Always A Flower
by DirkSamuelsMusicTheory
Summary: At first he thought was seeing things. With heavy legs beneath him as his heart fluttered in his throat, he stared at the Goban, previously unmarred,-now smeared with stained blood. "Are you alright?" Sai's pale face peered down to meet his own ghastly complexion. He sputtered. AU, Timetravel! Future M rating spike. Enjoy!
1. Go! Go! Hikaru!

**A/N:**

**I don't own Hikaru No Go, Yumi ****Hotta does.**

**Summary:** At first he thought he was seeing things. With heavy legs beneath him as his heart fluttered in his throat, he stared at the Goban, previously unmarred,- now smeared with stained blood. "Are you alright?" Sai's pale face peered down to meet his own ghastly complexion. He sputtered. A.U, Timetravel, Future M rating. Enjoy!

**Warning: I'm writing this fic on my iPad- so I have no idea if it'll mess up the formatting or something. SO, If it looks weird or to short and sketchy please message me. Thank you.**

And please, enjoy.

* * *

He felt like one of _those _guys.

You know, the type of guy that was rude (because he felt rebellious for some ridiculous reason) even though he constantly looked scruffy- but was terribly awkward- even in his own skin kind of guy. _The kind of loser who couldn't even get laid while having a longterm girlfriend, _kind of guy.

Silently, he paid for his coffee with the loose change from his pockets as he ignored the unamused stares of the customers waiting behind him in line.

"Uh, did you rob your little sister's piggy bank or something?"

He almost pitied the unfortunate worker (some guy that looked like a swagging street thug wearing an apron) from behind the counter who had to count it all out.

A steaming cup was placed before him, decorated with festive, wintry snowflakes.

He shook his head, "Thanks." he muttered pathetically to the dull teen behind the cash register with a shakey smile, "You can keep the change."

The teen glanced up in disbelief, "...Oh gee, _thanks_ man." ..._Cheap bastard_._  
_

Swiping his drink from the cream colored counter, he ignored the sarcasm and threw the spare coins into the charity box to the right, after noticing it was devoted to heart patients.

Two years ago his grandfather had died of a heart attack.

Shrugging away the cold feeling gnawing at his bones, Hikaru trudged out of a warmly lit, ringing Starbucks with a petty grimace pulling at his face. Glancing at his cheap wrist watch he pushed back a groan and sucked it up.

Monday mornings _always_ sucked the most.

Especially when they took place in the midst of January, where a twenty-three year old Shindo Hikaru was slipping himself into a half-hearted lurch at a self pity, party celebration.

His anxiety was steadily consuming him and his vaguely hopeful outlook on life, in quick bursts of irritated emotion, which he was sure wasn't quite healthy.

Annoying, familiar guilt stabbed at his sides as he sludged forward though the icy pavement and frozen snow.

Shindo was drowning in a massacre of problems that had him waddling neck-deep, in screwed up shit-and he knew swimming wasn't going to help him much now. He knew he should have started making an effort earlier...but damn-

His cell phone beeped annoyingly from his back pocket, as if screaming _Pick Me Up you idiot! _The blonde banged man rubbing his neck, reluctantly ignored it. He knew, from somewhere in the sinking pit of his fluttering stomach, that it was probably his girlfriend. The _girlfriend_, he realized bitterly, that was cheating on him.

And he knew the only reason she was still with him was because she hadn't yet realized that he knew about her little two-timing scheme.

His head hurt.

Sitting down on a street corner curb, he distressedly pulled out a pack of cigarettes, and nervously ignored his damp palms. His fingers itched and his thighs felt numb from the cold.

He just _knew _she was fucking the kindergarten teacher. _And probably getting a kick out of the kinky thrill of cheating on her doting boyfriend too._

_Oh, yes, _Shindo Hikaru hated where he was at this point in his life. Still youthful in age, but not motivated to do much with himself anymore. He was going absolutely nowhere and he hated it.

_No wonder that bitch was screwing the kiddie man, _he thought darkly.

_He's probably kind, nice with kids, has a steady job and constantly feeds her sweet words while sexing her up in_ his _apartment._

_What the fuck was he going to do? _Hikaru didn't even have the guts to confront her and that painfully hurt his wanning pride.

Oh, his _father_ would be so _proud _to see him right now, young and alone, sitting on a curb, staring blankly at a pack of unfiltered mint Marlbros, nicked from an (un-suspecting) co-worker, like the 'No Good Slacker' he'd predicted his son to be all those fine years ago.

Mind you, that translated to a workday meant for reaching newer, broader goals, or at least according to Senior Shindo, it did.

"What the hell am I doing?" His self-disgust had him trembling like a stray tom-cat in the middle of a frozen puddle as he stood up with hands suddenly shoved deep into his pockets. He gripped the crunching pack of cigarettes with paling fingers and stalked away, distantly aware that he was running late to a meeting that could or wouldn't save him.

His girlfriend could wait.

He tried his best to keep a calm composure, even as he glaringly pushed past the offended strangers, gingerly picking up their things from the ground in bewildered anger. His brewing thoughts wrapped themselves firmly around his head- making him feel like something of a blinded man teetering through the swarming streets of Tokyo. He felt sick. And now, even though he'd never had a problem with his self-esteem, like a man bitten by a wasp, he could feel the bite of nervousness sting at him with frightening effects.

His way of getting through life kind of made him something of an embarrassment to his parents. "_We don't agree on your choice of career. Opportunities to play Go are available anytime. Son- I- you need to at least graduate highschool!" _His father had reasoned as his mother begged for him to wisen up.

Hikaru at the youthful age of sixteen, dropped out of school and fully persued his dream of competing in Igo, full time. _"Hikaru, I love you enough to tell you that you are making stupid choices. You're at a foolish age where you think nothing will go wrong. You. Are. Wrong." _

Well fuck. Now he knew he was wrong.

Go had become an obsession, one that kept eating him from the inside like white ring worms. It clung to him like a second skin, a cloud of misery. He'd fight, he'd lose. And now he'd gone pitifully broke.

So, Shindo Hikaru _tried_ (honest to God) not to deny the harsh truth- that one, he definetely couldn't survive off of the Go Tournament 'High Achievment' earnings from the past few years, and _two_, he especially couldn't survive off of those damn earnings when he had an entire _pile_ of overdue bills to pay for an apartment that was on the verge of causing him to be evicted- unless(!) he won a title or two within the next month or so.

He bit his lip nervously. His mother had been right.

His _father _had been right.

His bitchy girlfriend had been right. He knew she agreed with his parents. She always did.

The likeliness of him winning was at zero... and even if two of the current title holders (excluding Touya Kouya) suddenly, by some God-sent miricle, decided to stop being stiff old geezers and tossed over the titles of Kisei and Honibo to him, he would still be considered one of the youngest professional Igo players. No one would expect him to hold his place, and the Go world would be in an uproar-

"Shit!" He gasped at the feeling of hot coffee spilling all over his _rented _suit, and hastily borrowed dress shirt.

He could feel the little money he had slipping through his fingers at the thought of getting the stuffy suit dry cleaned- even at the cheapest place he could think of, it would cost him an arm and a leg.

"Fuck, you have to be kidding me!" He exclaimed as he drew to a halt, already running his fingers exhaughstedly through his bleached bangs.

(He almost laughed at the thought of realizing he'd never grown out of his laid back fashion style, much to his mother's distaste.)

His heated glare quickly had the gapping idiot before him babbling nonsense as he angrily threw the dripping styrofoam cup from his ruined dress shirt.

"I'm so sorry-" A young highschooler (who'd hopped off his bike as soon as he'd realized what'd happened) with thick, wired framed glasses bowed profusely at the soaked man moaning heatedly before him, "I'll pay for your shirt-!" he panicked.

"Never mind that!" Hikaru snapped at the generic looking Japanese boy, "Just let me borrow your bike!" He forcefully knocked the boy aside, not even bothering to listen to his stunned sputtering, and ran with the two wheeled thing rolling dangerously at his side before sloppily jumping on to it like the teenager he had once been, only a few years ago, and peddled for his life though the throng of distanced business men and women.

Swinging his head behind, he caught sight of the dumbfounded kid standing next to a blinking light post helplessly.

"I'll return this thing to you in a couple hours!" He yelled over the traffic buzz of Tokyo and then sighed when he realized how weird he looked riding a too-small bike in a suit, which was certainly attracting unwanted attention to himself.

Well, the brat would just have to get over it.

* * *

With a ringing swish, he felt a rush of warm heat blow pleasantly over his face, warming his nose and ears to a red tinge. Hearing the the office door click to a close, he smiled thinly through his insecure composure at the busily typing woman sitting tiredly behind the front desk.

Her face was plain and boring, as she flipped through a stack of colorful folders, only stopping minutely to stare apathetically at her half written draft, blinking harshly on the computer screen before her.

"How can I help you?" She asked almost ominously, never looking up from her lap, which only served to have Shindo faltering like an idiot before whispering hoarsely, "Yes, I have a scheduled job interview here..." He started off tentively, and rocked back slightly onto his heels as her clear brown eyes raised to meet his own.

He guessed she was in her early thirties and decidedly pleasant to look at (in the chest area) for her age and lack of enthusiasm.

He watched her take in the sight of him with an owlish stare, not expecting such a handsome young man to be standing there in such a boring office, he hoped.

"Ah," She finally spoke, "You've reserved a meeting with Mr. Mishimoto?" Her clear gaze landed sharply on his lips as he swallowed nervously.

"No Mrs...," he glanced quickly at the white plastic tag, pinned neatly on the crease of her boring beige blouse, "Takashi?" He finished with a question and then smiled sheepishly. "Uh, actually I reserved a job interview with the Director Samaya-San."

"Name?" her eyes quickly dipped to the computer.

"Shindo Hikaru." he replied easily.

Her head bowed slightly in approval, "Ah, yes..." before looking up again to hand him a yellow slip and a small clipped order of paper forms.

"Just sign right here," she pointed to the forms, "And head down the hall and turn left to the third door down," She smiled for the first time since their meeting, "Though I think he'll be on lunch break now."

He smiled back, "Thanks." and hardly noticed her shocked gasp (though to her credit she recovered quite quickly) as he stepped away from the desk, revealing his stained shirt.

"Oh!" he paused and said, "Wish me luck!" in the brightest tone she'd ever heard.

Yeah, he was sure the boss would love him.

* * *

Touya's home was as old fashioned as usual, sporting a collection of well known japanese pottery and design as Hikaru stumbled through the front door, hazardously.

"Touya, Touya.. Agh!" Hikaru gave a distinctively startled squeak as he heard Akira's voice materialize from behind him.

"You're late! Where have you been?" Akira demanded through clenched teeth, already furiously glaring at the sweaty, young man, heaving heavy gulps of air before him.

"You're getting old..." His words shocked Shindo out of his haze. Sternly, he then led the blonde into his room where he kept his Go boards, and Kifu.

"H-had to return a bike," Shindo squeezed out at last as he sat down on his knees in front of the Goban between them. "And had a job interview." He sighed "I feel like I'm going to die!" The blonde groaned with a hinting twinge of an annoying whine to his tone.

"Are you okay?" His eyebrow twitched. Trust it to Shindo Hikaru to screw up something like a _job interview...-"Wait, _what?" He faltered, confused, "What do you need a job for? You're already a Go player! That's... That's your career." His words dripped blankly off of his tongue. He couldn't even _imagine the need for a job not related to GO._

Hikaru sighed.

"Touya-,"

"-Akira," he interrupted, only acutely aware of the annoyed look Shindo sent him. "If you're in any trouble I can help you out." It was quiet for a moment as Hikaru digested Akira's words.

The smooth faced, girly man patiently waited for his companion to form coherent words on his tongue. It was quiet for a good minute until the gentle tapping of Hikaru's trademark fan beat against the game board, rhythmically. Akira noted the blonde to only do such distracting habits in pressuring times.

"You're a good friend you know that?" Hikaru spoke softly, "But I don't want your help..." he noticed Akira's prickling exoression, "Wait! Sorry," he stuttered, "that didn't come out right- I meant just... I don't need anyone's _help_," Hikaru laughed lightly, " I actually just got hired at the place I applied for." His smile stretched out into a brave grin at the huffing reaction Akira showed, "The hours are okay too you know, and God knows I needed the extra cash!" He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. His locked gaze shifted from Akira's shockingly, intimidating glower, to the far, crème colored wall behind the looming man in front of him.

"Hey, so what do you say to a game, Touya? Wanna' play?" Hikaru asked, desperate for a subject change. His knee was bobbing at a past pace, distracting Akira for a splitting moment.

And then after a blank second, Akira's cold mannerisms fell out of place, "I- I accept." He stuttered, openly surprised at the picture of loud-mouthed Hikaru...working at what he assumed was a respectable office, that he'd forgotten to correct the boy on the usage of his name.

"Come on, Nigiri." The blonde coaxed, already dividing up the mixed pieces into their proper wooden cups at the Goban, making himself feel right at home.

"Alright," He muttered, "I'll play a game and then I'm kicking you out."

"Yeah right, you girl." Hikaru teased the bright faced, girly man with a cocked eyebrow.

Akira coudn't bring himself to deny it, because secretly he enjoyed it when Shindo pulled All-nighters with him, just play several rounds of good old fashioned Go. He didn't mind it all.

* * *

The heat had been shut off a while ago and he was cold.

Wrapped up under the thin covers of his creaky bed, Hikaru layed in the dark, in silence. He felt the thick squeezing of his throat and the aching of his collar bone as he tried to block the pang of hurt he felt.

He was a bastard. A fucking bastard and a jerk and he didn't care. He just wanted so _bad _to hit her.

Guilt nagged at him. He'd never hit a woman. Not even _that _woman- the one who looked so much like Sai.

He stared at his phone, thinking of the voicemail she'd left him.

"_Hikaru! Let's talk over coffee tomorrow, okay?_ There was a beat of silence, "_And I'm sorry that_ I _won't be coming home tonight! I'm staying over at a friends place- and well, you don't mind right? I love you...a lot- and I'll see you later. Bye!__"_

Her.

...Sai.

_"Shit."_

Sickling his toes tightly, he felt his self loathing melt into the back of his head, knowing that in the morning he'd have a migraine waiting for him.

"Is a chance to much to ask for?" He laughed, genuinely stupefied with himself.

He wanted to forget her.

He wanted to try it over again with her. He loved her.

He wanted _Sai to comeback so he could forget about...everything. _And he was just so_ frustrated._

He didn't care that he sounded like a hasty idiot with scandelous intentions. He didn't care that it was three in the morning and that his whining was loud enough to wake up the old hag next door. He didn't give a flying fuck that if someone caught word to what he did at night, (crying about some man that apparently never existed) they'd deem him crazy. He'd...he'd be thrown out in seconds.

After all only delirious people dreamed of ghosts playing Go with them every night, and only the deranged could hope to reach something that was gone through doing what the deceased person had done.

_Maybe I'm crazy? _

Pretending his girlfriend was Sai had been sick on his part.

"I'm so fucked up." the matress creaked as tugged the woolen blankets from his shoulders and moved to stand near the window by his computer desk.

Hikaru was passionate for Go, he loved it.

He loved it and he loathed it. Because every time he played the cursed game, he could feel the echoing presense of Sai.

He watched cars speed down the street below, blasting pop music, and heading home.

He would never match up to Sai, he could never even try to reach him.

"I'm Sorry Sai," he mummered.

And he knew even a million genuine tears couldn't bring his Sai back. He was too naive, dreaming and praying for _years_ on end for something that couldn't happen. He wanted to stop sulking- to grow up- but couldn't find the will.

"I thought I'd gotten over this."

Feeling the emptiness inside of him growing rapidly, he could do nothing to stop the fear in his stomach.

And without realizing it, Hikaru had set his train of prayers into motion, because- even if Sai couldn't be brought back, that didn't mean Hikaru couldn't.

He bit back a bitter laugh. _I'm an idiot._

* * *

**A/N: Still in development, and will probably raise rating later...**

**Review? It'd be cool if you did...**


	2. Date with Death

**A/N:**

**I don't own Hikaru No Go, Yumi ****Hotta does.**

**Summary:** "Shindo-San..." His friend of eight years started off uncomfortably, "You're...gay?" Akira glared accusingly at the magazine in Hikaru's hands. "What? No! No! It's not what you think!" Second chance, A.U. Timetravel, and a young Hikaru with a big girlish problem.

Enjoy.

* * *

The day Hikaru had showed up for the pre-arranged coffee date with his cheating girlfriend, was the day Shindo Hikaru got dumped.

"...Sick..." he was done crying.

_Men don't cry._

He had been right too, it was for the kindergarten teacher she'd been seeing. And Hikaru couldn't deny that the man had been a (_jerk) handsom, _and (_jerk) _charming guy who was definitely not him.

"_Perfect_ for each-Ughhh..."

Normally, for Hikaru, most Sunday mornings were spent tutoring ambitious Insei aiming to make it into the proffesional Igo society- for some extra cash at the Go Center.

Usually those mornings were meant for relaxing and talking to students who actually looked up to him. Not like those old men ranking higher than him in Dan, who feared that he'd bite at their heels and take their wavering place below the throne of 9 Dan.

Cowards. He was sure he wasn't good enough anyway.

This morning however, a scruffy looking blonde doubled over in pain next to the toilet, woke up wretching yesterday's microwave dinner in stilled horror. Gagging, he tried to remember what he'd done last night.

Oh, that's right- _stay home alone and drink at home alone._

"Shindo, open the damn door now!" The insistent knocking on the door of his apartment grew louder and more urgent with every stringing dribble of saliva from Hikaru's gapping mouth.

"Shut up," he groaned weakly into the porcelain bowl before moaning some more pitiful sounds, "I feel like shit..."

"You look like it too." An almost breathless voice drawled from the enterence of the bathroom as the light flickered on, making the blonde Go professional slump into the toilet in muted surprise.

Maybe his horrible lifestyle was becoming a trend_? Why the fuck is this guy even here? _He stared.

His hair, which he'd let grow out a bit more, (licked out oddly in weird Places,) struck up a flicker of amusement in Akira as he witnessed the ends of Hikaru's hair somehow frizz a bit at the ends right before his eyes.

"Touya, this...is a violation of my rights," he sighed tiredly, "And anyway I didn't know you had a thing for breaking into people's homes." Hikaru joked before hauling himself up to the sink, and rinsing off his face off with cold water. The unexpected attention aimed his way was a bit much for him on an early morning day.

He briefly worried he might even break down in front of him like a little bitch.

For a moment Akira was shocked, for he said nothing even as his jaw moved like the gold fish swimming in his backyard fountain. Stomping, like a prissy boy, he kicked a stray magazine out of the way and fumed.

With Shindo involved, it seemed his temper always got out of hand.

"The door was unlocked!" He exclaimed, annoyed, "What idiot leaves their home open for strangers! Anyone," he paused to take shallow breath, "Could have walked in!" Akira in all of pompous glory, smothered out all of the sprouting annoyance from his friends thoughts in one (emotional) rant.

Hikaru felt his heart drop to his toes. One step back and he'd be screwed. _Don't look down, don't look down... Don't. Look. Down._

Shindo's nervous persona melted as the green haired man moved closer. Even if Akira was acting a little wacko, he had somehow not seen the BL magazine trashed up on the side of his shoe.

_Shit._

"Yeah, yeah..." Hikaru inturrupted with a wave, and then grabbed the mint green toothbrush dangling at the edge of the sink with twitching fingers.

Not amused in the least, the girly boy (worried sick about the idiot) sighed and muttered a half-hearted,"Idiot," and tossed a paper bag Hikaru's way, "You didn't look so hot yesterday, so I bought you some medicine." His nose crinkled at the sound of Hikaru's hideous nauseous noises, "Looks like I was right to do so." Akira finished awkwardly, and watched through thin lips as Hikaru glared at him.

"...conceited, _jerk _who needs to get off of his high horse and..." The 'idiot' grumbled just loud enough for Akira to hear as he spat out the foamed toothpaste from his mouth.

Silently, Hikaru freaked out in the comfort of his mind. _His staring..._ He inwardly trailed off before glancing suspiciously at the man shifting on his feet, is_ a bit weird._

He frowned. _Back off, man!_

_"_What's_ wrong _with_ you?" _Touya suddenly asked slowly, and then as if realizing something he added, "Even at your worst you never act...like this."

Hikaru stared. "...Like what?" _he's not on drugs...right?_

Akira's brows furrowed, as if thinking hard. "Like you've got something to hide. Like...like," he paused, "Did you...get drunk? You're not really sick are you?" he accused, suddenly angry.

Hikaru didn't really like dealing with angry, feminine men. They whined just as much as women did on PMS. Especially bloody freaking _Touya fucking Akira._

"...Huh?" Hikaru watched warily as the man stepped closer to him, looked into his green blood-shot eyes, and almost as if on second thought, sharply opened his mouth.

"That's increadably immature of you! I thought you knew better..." he bristled haughtily.

"...Uh, Touya."

"Your health just gets shot down _every time_ you take a sip..."

"Hello?"

"And it's also a beating to your liver..."

"Touya." he bit out, suddenly filled with irrational anger-

"...Is so Stupid and it kills you-"

"For fucks sake Akira!" he blew up, finally inturupting the startled man with a loud, ringing shout, "I was dumped by a bitch and got my ass smashed! _So what_? I'm sorry that I'm not yet quite over mygir- my Ex!" his face was flushed and sweating in his angry confession as he thinly sucked in air though his grinding teeth.

...And then he grew embarassed under Touya's heavy stare.

"What?" he snapped, at the bewildered man.

He hesitated, "You have a girlfriend?"

"Had, yes."

Touya gave him a strange look. "Was she pretty?"

Hikaru stared, "She was- she is _beautiful_. I liked her a lot." he admitted. "We were going out for almost two years."

The long green haired boy made a sound in the back of his throat and moved his gaze to the toilet where Hikaru's vomit swam.

Ignoring the sigh from the depressed blonde, Akira spoke up quietly, "Flush that," there was a pause before he grudgingly said, "and I'll go and make some breakfast."

The grumbling blonde brightened, "Really?" Hikaru asked, surprised at the newest revelation from his rival.

"Yes," Akira nodded, "But get a shirt on first."

Hikaru laughed, figuring that if Touya could cook- (he toyed with the idea that maybe) perhaps Akira really was a girl in disguise...

He'd had his moments.

He heard Touya mutter something stupid under his breath as he stalked out of his bathroom like the fucking Queen of England.

_He doesn't know how I'm up so early when I have a hangover? _He laughed and then shook his head as he muttered to himself, "...What a charmer."

And then quietly (as he cautiously made sure Akira was out of sight and somewhere in his kitchen sifting through his almost non-existent food supplies) he picked up the stray magazine laying innocently on the tiled floor and stuffed it in the bathroom bin basket. After all, there was no need for Touya to find out about his...hobbies. Yes, _hobbies_ sounded quite nice and not BL related.

Ex-girlfriend or not, that would get him into unwanted trouble.

* * *

Hikaru hadn't realized how it had happend- but like always, he and Akira found themselves deeply concentrated in a game of Go, testing out one another's skills through thin, electric buzzed nerves.

_Pachi! _The stone clicked brightly against the wooden board as Akira sighed in disbelief.

"That's a stupid place too move to! Over here," he pointed to the left hand corner of the board surrounded by a mixed swell of stones, "Would be more _beneficial _to you!"

Hikaru made a small sound of annoyance in the back of his throat, hoping to throw off the leading opponent.

"What?" Akira demanded impatiently to the suddenly flustered Shindo.

"Touya, sit down!" He leaned back, "And shut your mouth," He pointed to his lips, "And keep playing." He ordered loudly to the indignant man before him with a small teasing smile playing gently on the ends of his mouth.

Akira, (suddenly realizing how fussy he was acting) reluctantly sat back down onto knees, not even realizing he'd only been inches away from Hikaru's slightly flushed face in his blinded moment of excitement.

_Oh! Er, sorry..._

"Yes, I'm sorry." Akira apoligized, as he carelessly slid a hand through his silky hair, embarrassed by his actions which were now the cause of the warm feeling tumbling in his stomach.

"It's fine," Hikaru sighed, "Let's play a new game."

"...Fine." He responded, thoroughly distracted by the sudden seriousness on his friend's face.

His fingers curled around a stone, while somewhere in the Back of his mind, he absently wondered when Shindo had gotten so handsome.

* * *

He knew he'd let him down.

"What is this?"

It was already two something in the morning, and Hikaru was surrounded by a group of his old colleagues and acquaintances from the 'Go Pro' Tutoring and Special Acedemic Achievments Center, drunk straight off his ass. Again.

"W-want me...Uhhh," a nice guy from work (whom he'd only passed by on a few occasions) slurred heavily, "to drive you... homeee?" he hummed and suddenly broke up into a wide cheek splitting smile.

Hikaru, who was about as intoxicated as his companions, knew the man wasn't as drunk as he'd let on (considering how thick the act was looking), stopped himself short from agreeing.

_Idiot, I'm not dealing with this crap right now. _He bit the tip of his tongue hard.

"You sucker of a drunk!" Another acquaintance of his, a big man with a thin twitching mustache, firmly clapped the fake drunk on his shoulder, "I swear boy, if you drove we'd all die! Ha-ha-ha!" His mustache shivered as he bellowed out a hearty laugh, one that rumbled through his chest like a purring...bear.

"Don't worry Shindo-San!" His eyes suddenly narrowed seriously, "This milky sucker won't have us turned into pretzels...I'll call my daughter up." He grunted, and then reached for his cell phone.

Hikaru shifted unsteadily on his feet, embarassed with himself.

_What would Touya think if he saw him right now? _

_"_Fuck." his words came out flat.

The round man gave him a surprised look before blinking tiredly.

"Honey it's your Papa," he mustered up in the saddest voice he could come up with, "I need your help and cooperation!" Another pause, "Yes I know what time it is!" he exclaimed- and then grunted unhappily.

"I see, alright, alright," He muttered, "Love you too."

It was quiet for a total of five distorting seconds.

The group of reddened men groaned in unison at the obvious answer coming their way. "Guys, we're going to have to take the train home- you all have money on you?" he needled, genuinely worried.

The youngster of the group (Hikaru) sighed, and dug his hands into his empty pockets. The only things his pockets had in them was lint.

For the first time Hikaru spoke up, "Nah, I don't carry cash around...but I don't live far." He countered, immediately trying to stop the bigger man from brokenly sobbing onto his shoulder like a freak.

"Are you sure?" Another colleague asked, suddenly serious.

His face was flushed from the effort of standing straight. He didn't need _this. Not now._

Hikaru nodded, "Yup," and then he bid his goodbyes to the half awake group with an unusual flair of perkiness. He wanted to laugh at himself, the entire group including himself had definetly gotten smashed over the newest promotion of their youngest student and it wasn't even funny.

Too bad the student wasn't their to witness the chaos inflicted by his victory. He would have been pleased, probably. In his experience he knew most insei would have been flattered to know that their teachers wern't all tight asses, and that they actually celebrated their Achievments with some fun.

Briefly he wondered if anyone had celebrated for him, smiling he blinked at the memory of Waya, Isumi and Morishita cheering for him like ugly cheerleaders, (on his first actual _purely successful, _win against some Chinese 7 Dan player in mid-September.) screeching their hearts out with love all for him. He loved those guys, and always would.

"Bye-bye Hikaruuuuuuu!"

"Yes, good-byeee Hikaru-Chan!" He heard the loud cries from behind fade as he briskly walked away, hoping to shake his mind from the foggy alcoholic haze slowing him down.

The lights from the little shops were out, and his feet were cold.

His buzz had worn off by the time he reached a corner near the bar they had gone to earlier (five blocks away).

And then after finally reaching the end of the lane, he turned the corner (slowly flinching) to meet the brightness of blaring headlights as the sound of screeching tires filled his ears.

_Oh._

Stunned and with an dry shriek torn half way through his raw throat, it took him a moment to know he was fucked as the liquid blue and yellow rimmed spots of unconsciousness filled his vision. His head felt numb, his fingers felt numb. _He felt smothered by a heavy feeling in his chest._

_He was scared._

_I'm going to die_!

_Diediediediedie!_

Tonight, he had a date with death itself. Darkly, he wished Touya could have had a swing at him first.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you for all the favorites and alerts! Although I treasure reviews, anything is welcome as long as you enjoy reading.**

**Review? You know you want to. ;) btw, I'm actually a big HikaXSai Fanfiction fan. Are their some exceptionably good fics out there that I should read? Thanks. **


	3. Cooling Confusion

**A/N:**

**I don't own Hikaru No Go, Yumi ****Hotta does.**

**Summary:** "Shindo-San..." His friend of eight years started off uncomfortably, "You're...gay?" Akira glared accusingly at the magazine in Hikaru's hands. "What? No! No! It's not what you think!" Second chance, A.U. Timetravel, and a young Hikaru with a big girlish problem.

Enjoy.

* * *

Instead of heavily snowing like predicted, it rained.

_Knock! Knock, knock knock!_

"Yes, what is-" Touya Akira paused as he creaked the door open an inch more to stare blatantly at the oddly dressed visitor standing meekly in his hall, soaked to the bone in rain, "Oh! It's you!" he exclaimed, when he finally managed to click the strangers wet, hair plastered face in with an _iffy _name.

In the background, his straining T.V blew static.

"Um, Waya...San?"

The awkwardly standing, dark haired brunette stiffly wiped away a dripping streak of rain from his cheek as he gathered his thoughts into a coherant sentence.

"Er, are you okay?"

"_Hikaru_..he...hospital..." The soaked man mummbled under his breath to the very much surprised Akira-Sensei.

After a moment of digesting what he'd barely heard and forgetting common curtesy, Akira swung his apartment door open with more force then necessary. The frame rattled under the sheer force of the swing as he poked his head out in disbelief.

"Shindo's what?" Outright shock colored his pitchy tone. Touya Akira couldn't _believe_ his ears when he'd heard that his closest friend had been admitted to the hospital, overnight.

_How the heck...did he manage that?_

"Touya-San," Yoshitaka Waya swallowed uncomfortably under the pressing glare of Hikaru's rival and withered at the sight of his uncharacteristic... passion, "I'm afraid he's-,"

Akira cut him off with a wave of a flailing arm, "How did that idiot get himself hospitalized? I bet he was being stupid again!" he hastily twisted around to grab a coat and seconds later reappeared to face a quickly paling Waya, "Excuse me, but I have a common moron to visit and-" he pushed past a stunned Waya like a torpedo running it's mouth.

"Wait!" Waya inturrupted desperately as Touya Akira broke away into a light jog towards the humming elevator.

He punched onto the arrow nearest to him, "Hurry up..." he whined.

"Touya-San." the brunnette called out again, as he wobbled on his feet, nervously breaking out into a full out freaked out tone. This caught the button pushing man off guard.

"Yes?" Akira turned his head to his trembling collegue, with fear immediately whisking through his pumping veins.

_Something is wrong. God, so wrong, I can tell with that- that face! _

"H-Hikaru," the man- now the emotionally unstable man, stuttered weakly, "God damn it!" His face fell into his hands in defeat. "Touya," His voice hardened as he helplessly pulled himself together, "Shindo Hikaru...is dead."

His words were met with a slackened reaction. _What? _

"Touya-San?" Waya called out, worriedly, "Hey Touya?" His eyes widened as Akira laughed flatly with wet, scared eyes.

..._What?_

"You're joking right?" The green pigment haired man asked in shaken disbelief. His head was spinning at the effort to push down his disgust. Why would this man lie about Shindo?

His question was met with a rush of swelling tears.

Marching up to the shivering Go player, Akira roughly grabbed the sides of his freezing ams and looked right into his dark eyes, begging, "No...not him, not _him._"

The brunnette found himself unable to pull back, shocked that the emotionless man who he honestly hated- was shaking him to peices. And in that moment, Waya couldn't find any hate for the sobbing Go player- Shindo Hikaru's best friend.

Only pity.

_I understand._

"Yeah, I'm sorry."

* * *

It was one of those sick, fucked up moments in which he knew he was either dreaming or dead.

He found himself staring blankly at the relaxed man sitting before him.

His peace of mind was starved of it's usual balance, so he had somehow bizzarly supplied himself, unconsciously, with a frightfully realistic delusion of his menator sitting unperturbedly next to an Alaskan Spruce, Goban.

Hikaru ignored the piercingly perceptive eyes of his ghostly companion, instead choosing to stare at the milky skin of his exposed neck.

His imaginary Sai abruptly drew out his fan and waved it briskly at his pale face, while quietly twittering inaudible nonsense to his restless disciple.

"Sai." Shocked, he realized he'd spoken in an un-intentionally commanding tone. He didn't want to scare the figment of color and memory away. _Not when I need him._

The ghost paused to peek at the blonde through his yellowing fan, "Yes?" he asked with a subtle tilt of the head in patient understanding, without skipping a beat.

Hikaru swallowed back the bile in his throat before continuing.

"Why did you leave me?" He choked while struggling to bring his gaze up above his lap. When he received no response, his heart dropped into his stomach in disappointment.

Sai immediately rose up from his shaded spot on the tatami mat, and strode anxiously towards the sullen blonde.

Hikaru could barely find a voice to speak with.

"I..." he swallowed the lump in his throat, "I missed you." He finally confessed through his trembling confidence. Heaving emotions strangled his mind's splitting image.

The figment of Hikaru's wild imagination, could only smile sadly as the blonde briefly struggled to collect himself.

And even with his frantic attempts, he couldn't quite piece himself together in a decent fashion.

He was pathetic.

_A pathetic _sad case.

"I missed you so much." He laughed bitterly through his tears.

Without even meaning to, imaginary Sai could bring him into such a shallow corner of his mind by simply not responding.

In his moment of wistful melancholy, the ghost of his past drew closer, nearly touching Hikaru's shoulder.

_Why are you doing this to me?_

"You stood me up." The youngest abruptly joked, and then raised his head to meet the sight of an empty room.

_No- don't leave me!_

"Sai?"

"-In _critical _condition...-" The sober statement of a doctor assigned to the case of a young man injured in a car accident, spoke quietly to the tightly wound woman standing before him.

Those same words flittered into the ears of non other than the young man being spoken about.

It had been a while since he'd last dreamt of Sai and his reserved smile.

_A dream._

"From the looks of things, it seems like he's been living a very ascetic life," he paused as if trying to re-think what he was about to say before reluctantly continuing, "That or he's been starving himself."

He felt heavy, and the pounding headache building up in the back of his head wasn't helping much to tune out the harsh voice of woman holding back a fearsome strike.

Hikaru tried his best to not think out the soft murmuring of the MD speaking to whom he assumed was his mother (his only living family member who'd bother to see him since he turned twenty, the age in which a person was considered an adult in Japan.)

His eyes felt like they were stuck to each other, as he tilted his head back a bit, a familiar gesture unconsciously giving easier access to a more comfortable way of breathing.

"Are you implying that I don't feed my son?" he heard the woman- his fifty something year old mother, propped up in three inch heels and a cream jacket, bite out angrily, "In my household my son," she pulled anxiously at the ends of her dark brown hair- not pepper streaked?, "He-," her voice cracked, "_Hikaru, _my baby gets only the best food."

Stoically the man towering far above her wrote something down. The scratching of his pen filled Hikaru's rushing ears as her blurred face twisted into an insulted expression, "My boy has always been healthy, and it was never a problem getting him to follow the house rules." She the glared at the doctor sharply, now forming a grudge.

The blonde frowned, _what was she going on about_? He hadn't eaten a home-cooked meal since he was...maybe seventeen? He'd left his parents to fend for themselves _years _ago. His father had basically disowned him after their most recent fallout._  
_

_Why am I in a hospital? _He paused to swallow thickly, _Why is she here? _Her presense unnerved him to an unexpected degree.

The doctor nodded again and then wrote another string of information down onto his clipboard with a sigh.

"No, ma'am," he tried to calm her down (for she was breathing furiously down his neck),"But medical results show that their were also traces of alcohol in your son's blood stream," he raised a hand up calmly to stop her from screaming, "_And I'm afraid their _might be a chance that the DCFS will want to get involved." He looked past her shoulder (to the drugged up boy) as he spoke to the stunned woman prickling with disbelief.

"No-," She pulled back her hair, stressed, "he's a good kid."

He stared blankly at the reddening woman.

"Really!" She pressed fervently to the straight laced man.

"I see, and well with this complication," he interrupted to thrust a fresh slip towards her outstretched hand, "he'll have to stay for rehab, and have surgery on his left leg."

Hikaru's eyebrows shot up at last part of the alarming comment.

"I understand." His mother's voice surprisingly cleared up to match the doctor's drab like tone. "I suppose though," Hikaru's eyes focused in onto her face, "he'll have to quit football."

_Football? _He couldn't make any sense of the word.

"For the time being, yes."

_What the fuck is she rattling on about? _A twinge of fear twisted his stomach into tight knots of suspicion.

All he remembered was drinking with friends, walking... Uh... And...Ughhh, _my head hurts!_

"Mom?" his usual carefully measured tone came out scratchy and high pitched as his gut wrenched from its place.

Blinking once, blinking twice he watched her freeze in her spot to crane her neck back- to stare at him.

"What are you talking about?" his throat hadn't improved much since his little staring contest with his mother and the doctor. No, it was still the same few decimals higher than what a grown man should have been capable of.

His limbs stiffened in their rolls of soft blankets and coarse bandages.

_It's official I'm insane. _He thought thinly as his mouth tightened into a straight line.

Pale surprise coloured their faces. "Calm down," the tall doctor held a hand to the woman's shoulder. "He's been in and out all week. He may not even be lucid...-"

She ignored him.

"Hikaru!" her voice cracked, and he could see and hear the relief in her voice tremble out of her like a breezing wave.

He flinched as her erratic steps thundered in his rushing ears, "Oh thank God you're awake!" His mother hoarsly forced the words out of her and gushed over his paling form, clutching the white hospital sheets like an anchor to a drowning man.

He stiffened as she approached him, her soft, wrinkle-free skin in clear sight. He flinched at the unfamiliar sight and tried to move away from her through his twisting bed sheets.

"Stay still." She mummered. "I dont want those bandages to come loose."

"M- mom?" he felt her hand waver above his head._  
_

"Hmm?" she hummed as she sat down next to him in the foldable chair and carefully brushed away a stray strand of hair from his forehead. The beeping of his heart on the monitor stayed frighteningly even as her dark eyes looked through him.

He stared, unable to speak.

_Something was wrong._

_Very, very wrong._

"Hikaru," She smiled, "You're okay," her arms wrapped themselves protectively around his pillow propped torso, "Baby, you're okay." his breath was stuck in his throat.

Hikaru gapped, "I-," he faltered.

_What in God's name was going on? _How _do I even get myself in these crazy situations?_

The heart monitor suddenly starting whaling furiously as his confusion thickened. "-Botox?" he squeezed out in shock, immediately refusing the first idea that come to his head.

I _didn't think she had the money...!_

The strange woman that resembled his mother blinked. "Hikaru-,"

The doctor tapped his mother firmly on the shoulder and said, "Mrs. Shindo, I'm sorry but you'll have to leave."

She had a funny expression on her face as she bit her lip, and quickly kissed the top of her son's head.

"No I don't." she bit out without turning her head.

He flinched,

"I"m sorry Hikaru, I'm sorry that...you were hurt." her eyes warily slid to the stiff form beside her.

"Why are you here?" he rasped out in that same pitchy voice. She blinked away the wetness from her lightened eyes.

"Mrs-" the doctor spoke up again.

"I'm your mother _Hikaru_._" _she recited as if she'd done so in front of a mirror hundreds of times. "I love you, why would you...I-" she stopped herself, "You know what- _Rest_," she sounded tired, "Hikaru, just rest. A growing boy needs his rest if he wants to get better sooner rather than later."

She looked guilty.

Sinking into the cushioned mattress, Hikaru could only stare at the woman above him with widened eyes and a trembling sense of shock.

"What?"

Her lips twitched up, she figured her son was annoyed at not being treated like an adult. "I'll have to bring in your homework, huh..."

He paled.

"You won't be bored, and you'll love it when your friends come to visit..."

"Mrs. Shindo." the doctor's firm voice clipped at her side.

She tensed, and gave him one last fleeting look.

"Don't worry, daddy and grandpa will be here soon." Her soft words left Shindo in unrelieving chaos as she reluctantly pulled back.

"D-daddy?" he echoed as the foreign word touched his tongue.

And as his mother was led out and away with clicking heels on the clean tile, Hikaru couldn't quite find the words to tell her to stay.

He couldn't even breathe. And then he fell into a full out panic attack.

"H-help," he wheezed as tears squeezed out of the corners of his eyes._ Help! _He begged, gasping and wheezing for air.

"Hey! Let's get a nurse in here!" he heard someone call out- and then the doctor babbling orders moved something. Immediately the drugs hooked onto the IV, meant to sedate him, touched his bloodstream and pushed his senses further down.

"Oh, who the hell gave him the wrong dose?" a doctor's professional facade wavered. Come here!" he snapped to a young nurse, nervously shrinking into the back wall. "What fucking nurse filled the prescription?" Nervous chatter surrounded the blank boy as they pricked him.

"This is why I don't trust the student nurses to _anything._" he growled.

The nurse blinking back tears nodded quickly to him and secretly wished a rabbit hole would appear for under her feet so she could magically emerge back up later as an awesome, qualified nurse!

The boy was out like a light.

And the doctor, through expaserated thoughts, knew he was certainly a special case.

* * *

**Review? You know you want to. ;) btw, suggestions are welcome! Don't be shy! And thanks to all the favoriters and alerter's but I especially love the reviewers. AAANDDD-**

**This story will lift from it's depressing state soon, I promise! (Also if you catch some mistakes I'll edit the chapter to clear up any problems. Thanks.)**

**The story is dedicated to you, so I'll do my best to keep updating daily, because don't you just love this fandom? I certainly do! **


	4. Old Men Love Go

**A/N:**

**I don't own Hikaru No Go, Yumi ****Hotta does.**

**Summary:** "Shindo-San..." His friend of eight years started off uncomfortably, "You're...gay?" Akira glared accusingly at the magazine in Hikaru's hands. "What? No! No! It's not what you think!" Second chance, A.U. Timetravel, and a young Hikaru with a big girlish problem.

Enjoy.

* * *

It all happened in a burst of novelty, really.

"Take a seat." The austere doctor greeted the couple stiffly from behind his office desk.

_No, not really._

"Thank you," Shindo Mitsuko thanked him briefly before sitting down and uneasily glancing at her husband with dark, distressed eyes.

The detached doctor (with slicked back hair) nodded politely before turning to face his patient, Hikaru Shindo's father, Masao Shindo.

"So from earlier conversations via phone," he started off cautiously, "I'd gather your son, Shindo-San is rather fond of football?"

Mrs. Shindo's hands twisted anxiously in her lap as she responded smoothly for her distracted husband, "Before the accident, he was practicing to become a _Pro," _her voice dropped a decimal as she stressed the last word to the man helping her son.

"He'd attended a private school that excelled in sports," she almost smiled, "He was always practicing with his friends who had competed even _out _of the _country_!"

"I see," the doctor rested his chin into his palms as he complentated what she'd said, "he won't be able to compete anymore." The atmosphere grew tenser as he paced himself to continue.

"I'm not saying he won't be fine after a bit of therapy and light excersize," he paused, "But your son-he'll never be able to _use _his left leg _competitively._ In fact," he bit his lip, " I'd stick to him just quitting football all together, just to be on the safe side."

The Shindo couple kept quiet as he stood up.

"I know," Masao surprised the two by cutting in, "My wife and I have already agreed, it would be in our son's best interests if he'd quit and settle for something a little less _rough._" he vocalized in a strained voice.

The doctor sighed, "It's a shame such talent was wasted," he muttered, "But Perhaps your boy was meant for greater things."

He stood up, and left Masao Shindo to privately mourn the loss of his talented son being robbed of his time and effort for something that could never be a reality.

"Honey," Mitsuko gently squeezed the shoulder of her husband, "Dr. Hayate left a note saying, Hikaru should be able to come home in another a week or two!"

Masao's frown deepened at the sight of her pretty face expressing enthusiasm on seeing their hopess case of a son. Without football, he'd never become a somebody worthy of the Shindo name. He'd been losing the fight in academics for years.

"I'm sorry," he started off slowly, "but in a couple days I'll be on a month long business trip in Toronto."

Mitsuko's smile faltered as she felt her hand slip from his shoulder. This man had the _nerve to-_

"_Honey! _We're talking about our injured _son _whom you _hit _with a car!"

The man sunk into his chair, pissed.

* * *

In those heroic, sappy dramas meant for teenage girls and mothers stuck in horrifying middle-aged crises', Doctor telivision series, starring hot nurses and sick patients were all the rage.

The reality was far from the delusion made in the media. Like, _woah. I'm acually really just a pebble that everyone steps on._

No one _really _cared for you. It was more like, 'Hey, this sick boy is my paycheck for next week! Better get used to this little brat before I stick him with a large pointy needle!'

And if that wasn't horrible enough, he'd read little pamphlets about sexually transmitted diseases out of the need of fending off boredom.

_Now he'd never have unprotected sex. _Ever. Period.

And with all the spare time he now had to think alone, he'd come to the conclusion that he was short a few crayons from the Crayola box, but whatever. He'd just have to make best of his new found insanity...right?

...hah, there was no fun in boredom.

Staring at the ceiling and printed AIDs could only serve so much entertainment before one burned out and turned to mischief.

That or they suffer until morning came about and the hustling and bustling of this corridor of the hospital got moving again.

"Yeah...okay, one sheep, two sheep, three sheep, four sheep..." he'd run out of fingers and was now turning to his toes.

He'd been stuck in the hospital for what felt like forever.

"Thirty-three little sheep, dancing, danc-"

Hikaru rose to the curious shuffling of rubber shoes, scuffing forth against the shiny tiled floor, just outside of his room. Ears perked, he listened and waited for any unusual sounds.

The light flickered and buzzed.

He stared at his short legs in discomfort before looking up again fom behind the doorframe.

From common sense, he figured the typical paitient wouldn't normally be sneaking out and about the hospital corridors- at obnoxiously early hours, for some _air_. So naturally he hobbled out of bed, grabbed his crutches, and strappily peeked out the door to meet the odd sight of two old men, bickering quietly in the pitch dark, pre-dawn shadows of morning and it's single lightbulb.

"Shh!" the one clad in blue robes, pinched his companion lightly on the shoulder, "Takeo-San!" he whined, "You're dragging your feet, you idiot..."

The one holding a number of collaged, mismatched bags, sighed impatiently as he swatted back at the man critiscising his every move. "Do you ever stop complaining?" Takeo seethed, gruffly to his enthusiasticly arguing partner.

The other man replied with a curt shake of the head and muttered a, "Never," under his breath as Hikaru stealthily listened in the background with a grotesquely, interested expression painting his face.

"Come on!" The blue robed man demanded to his partner wildly, "This time for sure, I'll beat you in a game of Go."

"Go?" Hikaru wondered aloud as he supressed a strange tingle of excitement. "I know it's apopular stereotype for old men to play Go, but really...," he scratched his head thoughtfully, "...Why the heck are they out at this hour?"

He was probably in some elaborate dreamscape place anyway. In a coma maybe at home where Touya thought he was an idiot.

He missed him.

_I guess It'll be fun to do something other then rest. Maybe I should try and strike up a conversation? _

"Hey!" The blonde called out carefully as he slipped away from the clinging shadows swimming on his skin, "Can I play too?"

His guilt pitted in his stomach.

There was a fragile moment of pin-drop silence before the clueless Shindo was brought to his senses by the terrified wailing of the individuals. "Aaaahhh!" The two men shrieked in horror at the sight of a young boy, with desperate eyes, requesting for a game of Go.

"A g-g-_ghost!_"

"I'm not a ghost...hey, woah," he watched the men drop in strained silence, "HEY ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Hikaru immediately fled to the side of the two unconscious geezers, worried he'd caused a heart attack or something.

"Urgh," he grimaced, "How am I going to bring them to their rooms?" He felt like tearing his hair out as he shifted to heels, uncomfortably, "No, No! Where _are their rooms?"_

_He _knew he was going to hell for this.

"Shit."

One man stirred under his shaking hands.

"Hey, brat..." he whispered darkly, "I'm going to wring your little neck...once...I can...stand."

Hikaru blinked, "Sorry Sir, I'm sorry-"

"Shut up."

There was a beat of silence.

"Yes, sorry sir."

"...What'd I just say?"

* * *

"Here in Tokyo, it's a chilly sixty degrees, with a chance of rain. As you can see down by the southern regions of..." Blah, blah, blah...

An old, colored T.V set sat forelonely in the corner of Hikaru's hospital room, blaring the static News Weather Cast, at a rather loud volume. The boy had been feeling drained since his morning aerobics swim class, the class filled with a group of old, sick people. The not so cheerful doctor (he had lots of them, but one showed up persistently to make his a life a living hell) had explained that he _needed _to take the class in order to reduce muscle joint injury. Reluctantly, (though not that he had much of a choice anyway) he would attend the classes at exactly ten A.M sharply, _everyday._

A week had passed since the incident of finding two collapsed men in the empty halls at four in the morning with no nurses to attend to them. He'd been playing Takeo-San every afternoon since the old man had found out that the youth of today were willing to play Go.

Hikaru bit his lip.

The news reporter, droning at the persistanly constant, watery pace, was starting to itch at the irratable blonde's nerves.

He was convinced that he'd rather eat the hospital slop, (because that was doing something...) after watching the same thing, repeat over and over again- _all _day, until one of the more considerate nurses bustled in too switch it off.

Well, granted the people were only trying to be nice by allowing him to have _some_ form of entertainment...but that small thought hadn't helped to cool his head much.

And for a while, (when he'd actually settled down and had a chance to _think_) he'd realized with a sunken, sound conviction, that he'd be stuck here for a while, or at least until the main doctor gave the 'Okay.'

Now, what made things worse was the tightly scheduled therapy that he'd been assigned too, which allowed no visitors at the time, including said individual's guardians.

Hikaru wistfully tried to imagine himself in a better place, although the surroundings hardly helped to feed his yearning imagination.

And much to his utmost disdain, the hospital was a bland pristine white, filled with gossiping nurses wearing paper scrubs- who smelled of latex gloves and cleaning bleach.

He didn't think he'd had the imagination to make this up.

"Tip your chin up dear." A young nurse clad in a green paper outfit flashed a kind smile to a weary Hikaru Shindo, who reluctantly returned her smile with a dreary type of grimace.

His darkened pupils dilated thinly as a bright beam of light flittered into his malachite green eyes.

"Hmm," she hummed approvingly, "Your eyesight seems to be normal," she clicked the small flashlight in her hand off before turning to Shindo with a squirting needle.

She tapped it twice, making sure that all of the air bubbles had gotten out before shifting towards him.

Startled at the size of the _thing,_ Hikaru quickly scooted back as far in his bed as he could go without falling over and opening some delicately stitched wounds.

"W-woah there!" he stuttered, "I don't think you're qualified to _stab _me with that _thing_!" He exclaimed nervously as she faltered.

Cocking her head to one side, her mood immediately changed.

"Shindo-San," she drawled, I'm an NP, with a Doctor's degree in nursing," her insistance on that fact was intensified as she proceeded to step closer to the blonde (who was terrified out of his wits) and spoke in a teasing manner, "Please don't decide for me, whether of not I am liscenced enough to do my job."

His eyebrows shot up to his hairline in perplexed distress.

Finally she sighed tiredly and muttered,"The doctor will be with you shortly."

_What a big bitch! _And now he had just resigned himself to counting his fingers and toes again until the _doctor _strutted his fine ass into his _lovely _life.

Dully, after twenty minutes of waiting the doctor _did in fact _strut into his room with a lovely ass and dashing smile. _Not._

_"You _guys are going to kill me." he complained to the man sporting a white coat.

The doctor spared him a glance, "If the nurses and I conspired to kill you," he paused with a tittering edge, "You'd know."

And so they left it at that.

* * *

"You're a _strange _brat."

His heart leapt from his chest. _Grandpa._

"Gramps?" The blonde had nearly jumped out of his skin from the the voice of his grandfather lurking at the entrance of his room, "What are you doing here?" Hikaru respectfully placed a magazine labeled 'The Offside,' which was filled with all sorts of football mumbo jumbo, down onto his lap.

_The old bugger, he's actually alive._

The old man briefly smiled at his grandson and wondered if he'd ever tell Hikaru the trouble he went through to see him. _Apparently no one is allowed to visit..._

"I heard you've been playing go! So we're going to spend some time together bonding over the game." Heihachi replied calmly as he hauled out a traveling Igo pack from his bag. Half expecting a groan of disappointment or annoyance from the boy, he avoided making eye contact, and quietly set up the game on the foldable table before them.

When he heard nothing but silence he glanced up wearily to meet the sight of a rigid seated blonde.

"Gramps- I don't know how to _play!" _he babbled. _How'd he find out? _Now that he'd dipped himself in sin_, he'd feel guilty as fuck for the rest of his life._

_What disrespect to the memory of Sai._

"What's this nonsense Hikaru?" The smiling man before him reached out to grab his hand in a firm hold. "My good friend Takeo-San said he played a game with you," His grandfather whispered animatedly, "And you seemed alright to him- the man just wouldn't stop saying praises about you!" he chuckled kindly and shook his hand, " _And_ anyway, he said you were a natural at the game, so suck it up and humor this old man."

_Takeo-San? Sounds familiar... _

_Oh._

_Shit._

Hikaru raised a brow at the excitement his grandfather was showing. His grandfather was a strange guy...

"I know." the blonde responded sullenly, with a rather sour expression marring his pale face as he thought of the peaceful days he'd indulged his craving for Go.

This was his own fault for being selfish.

_Ugh. I'm screwed._

And so, quietly he wondered how he'd get himself out of this one.

"Come on, if you win I'll buy you a comic or something."

"A manga?" his surprise must have showed, for the old man brightened.

"Sure, how about that Nabuto samurai thing?"

"...You mean Naruto? The ninja one?"

"Ha-ha! Yeah! You got it!"

His mouth dropped, "Are you, are you _bribing me?_" his voice squeaked incredulously.

The older Shindo smiled. "No, you don't really have a choice." he leaned in and stated 'matter of factly', "I was just being nice."

Hikaru liked to think he was actually being a downright devious bitch. It was too bad he liked his gramps. Even if it all was just a dream.

He liked seeing his grandfather well.

* * *

**Review? The nurse just pissed me off for some reason. :c**

**Anyway, you guys have no idea how happy I am at the amount of feedback! I mean, 14 Reviews! Wow! :D**

**I'm floating on clouds...with...Sai and Hikaru making out next to me. Oh damn. It's getting hot in here.**


	5. Tutor A Dummy

**A/N:**

**I don't own Hikaru No Go, Yumi ****Hotta does.**

**Summary:** "Shindo-San..." His friend of eight years started off uncomfortably, "You're...gay?" Akira glared accusingly at the magazine in Hikaru's hands. "What? No! No! It's not what you think!" Second chance, A.U. Timetravel, and a young Hikaru with a big girlish problem.

Enjoy.

* * *

Nastalagia.

Boy, had he been slapped in the face more than once this week with _that _tear jerking, sentimentality.

He had already been occupying and inhabiting the hospital for _three weeks_. Three weeks was a considerable amount of time to think about...anything and _everything_! Especially about those fortunate events, that landed you almost a decade back in a time. Or, in a more sane type of observation...in La-La land while he drooled as vegetable in a hospital bed back in _his Tokyo._

_Woah_, and it had taken a while for _that _particular thought to sink in. The obsession to leave, and get out of the hospital was driving him up the wall with frustration.

Didn't dreaming mean you coukd do anything? Apparently not.

Hikaru excitedly sprang up to grab his crutches (while hopping on one leg) in hopes of getting out of his room, to stretch his cramped up muscles.

_Oh! Shit. I'm going to fall!_

_ I don't need two broken legs..._

And like clock work, the young doctor assigned to his case stepped onto his room at exactly three-O-clock with a stiff clipboard in hand, effectively disrupting the plan Hikaru had in mind.

With horrified amusement, he took off his glasses to stare.

"What are you doing?' The doctor asked sharply to the boy who was in...an awkward position. One leg was raised (weakly) and a hand outstretched as if he planned to hold an arabesque, right there and then like some type of crippled ballerino (or an awesome male ballet dancer).

"N-nothing!" he stuttered, and then flushed in embarrassment. _I'm such a dork, man. _He even blushed like a schoolgirl.

"I suppose it doesn't matter..." the doctor started off quietly, "You're being discharged afterall," he walked up to the bleached blonde boy, "And...Your guardian wants to pick you up."

"Huh?" Hikaru stared blankly at the man clad in white, scribbling something on his handy dandy, yellow Note pad.

He raised a brow.

"She's in the hall."

"Oh, _okay-" he stared, "Then I guess, _I'll be going now." the blonde slunk out of his weird position (in favor of walking to the open door) before turning around to wave at the man who had protected him.

"Thanks Doc, for...you know _saving _me." And then he waltzed right out of the room and into the hushed silence of his fretting mother.

"Hikaru!" she lunged at him like a wild koala bear.

"Oomph!" there was struggling, "Let me go!"

"Aww! I missed _you!_"

Unknowingly he'd left behind a smiling man.

"Kids these days..." and then the sliver of amusement was gone before the nurse stumbling his way could see.

"There's a patient waiting for you upstairs, doctor."

"Hm." he hummed, getting back into business mode wasn't to hard. At least not once he slipped his glasses back on. Wordlessly, he wished good health for his cheerful patient.

* * *

The drive home was filled with the bubbling chatter of his mother.

_Fill the silence. Fill the silence. Come on!_

"-And he said he wanted to come, but you know how he's a bit of a workaholic!" She smiled a weary smile before sliding her gaze to meet the sight of her unusually quiet son.

_What was wrong with him?_

"Hikaru," She swallowed her nervousness, ready to instead plead, "Your father Masao and I _love _you very much!" her teeth pressed against her bitten lip sincerely.

"Mmh." he nodded, still staring out the opened window thoughtfully.

"Hikaru!"

Startled by his mother's sudden need to tell him things he already knew, Hikaru turned his head to her and stared.

"What?"

She blinked, "Your father and I-,"

"Mom I _know, _and anyway dad works to support us right?"

His mother's hands tightened on the steering wheel.

"He loves us. I know...I know he can't always be around." he scratched his cheek.

_Since when had her son matured so much? _A bubble of pride filled her.

_Hikaru..._

"Hey," he startled her as she flinched.

_"I _love you_, mom." _

"Ah," Mitsuko mumbled as she pressed a little harder on the gas and watched blankly as the scenery flew past them and eventually turned more Urban.

"I- I love you too." she stuttered.

She _loved him more than he'd ever know._

She rubbed the side of her neck tiredly, while wondering if her son would ever know just _who _had hit him with the car that had caused his entire future, as a football player, to go down the drain.

"I'm sorry." she mummered to herself.

If the small boy had heard her, he didn't comment.

She had a feeling that this day wouldn't go well as she drove back into Tokyo with anxiety pitting her stomach.

Hikaru was her young son, the one whom she loved and adored with all her she had.

* * *

While being in his childhood home felt oddly comforting in some way, it also felt unnervingly disturbing-in a multitude of _other strange _ways.

And now the person that shot a formal smile his way had nearly scared the living holy shit out of him in a matter of seconds.

"Y-you!" Shindo Hikaru was suddenly faced with quite the dilemma. Considering what his parents had signed him up for, he panicked.

_What the hell is he doing here?!_

"Please treat me well." The well-bred (riiiight) Japanese boy before him mummered quietly as he bowed courteously to the prickling blonde.

"Shinichiro Isumi...?" the blonde raised a brow in disbelief.

"You know me?" Isumi asked in a surprised voice.

"...No." Hikaru responded unconvincingly to the sweat dropping teen.

"So you're going to be my tutor?" Hikaru awkwardly scratched the back of his neck as he faced the familiar face.

"Mom?" he cast a betrayed look at the suddenly serious faced parent before him.

"Hikaru." she warned. All soft love was lost from before. Tough love, tough love...it persevered to the end.

"Uh," he swallowed the thickness on his throat, uncomfortably.

_God, he hadn't a book unrelated to Go since...ages ago- and that was back when it was required in school- before he dropped out, in favor of becoming a professional Igo player._

_I feel dumb._

"Yes, for the studies you've fallen behind on," Isumi said with a rather disarming, charming smile and then muttered cautiously, "Your parents..." he paused mid-sentence, "Insisted I don't hold back on any study methods."

His mother perked up, "Sweety, I hired a tutor from one of the best _high _schools, so you could catch up on all the work you'd fallen behind on."

_Was this some type of ALTERNATE UNIVERSE? His dream was freakier and freakier!_

_This is wrong._

Hikaru groaned out a "Nooooo," of displeasure as he was dragged up into his room, hating the books he saw in Isumi's hand.

"...Ouch!" the boy flinched.

Isumi smiled.

"Why did you _pinch _me?" he squawked miserably from under Isumi's darkened smile. _Dude...you're freaking me out!_

He replied nonchalantly, "You were having stupid thoughts, right?"

The blonde would have laughed, but the taller boy suddenly seemed intimidating. Like a freaky dark shadow of a handsom monster that crept from under your bed and closet...waiting to eat you.

"I'll, uh..." he blinked, "I'll go hit the books right now." he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Yeah that sounds good..."

"Sounds about right." the dark haired boy agreed.

_Yeah, that soun_ds fine. He gritted inwardly as he hobbled up the staibooks couple of books already in hand.

* * *

**Review? While I procrastinate...?**

**One of the reviewers wanted me to post up a chapter Sunday so here it is!**

**Oh, and _anonymous_? Since I can't reply to you or _Nuh, _I just wanted to say thanks for R&Ring! Your support is pretty damn awesome! ****Lol, and look at the Reviews! Wow! :D I'm getting giddy just by staring at them! **

**Btw, random info! Everytime I post a chapter, immediately I write up at least 500 words before the next day. (I am aware this is a short chapter...) **

**You know, so I have something to start with once inspiration strikes me. :D**

**I'm such a dork. D: **


	6. Spring Drowning

**A/N:**

**I don't own Hikaru No Go, Yumi ****Hotta does.**

**Summary:** "Shindo-San..." His friend of eight years started off uncomfortably, "You're...gay?" Akira glared accusingly at the magazine in Hikaru's hands. "What? No! No! It's not what you think!" Second chance, A.U. _Timetravel_, and a young Hikaru with a big girlish problem.

Enjoy.

* * *

Evening had sunk into the sullen grey sky, forcibly shying away the unsoiled wispy clouds of spring as a young boy ran desperately to the place that brought back a world of memories and regrets.

Hikaru's labored breathing, echoed loudly against the worn, beaten wood as he pried open the reluctant shed door with frantic hands.

"O-open up damn it!" He begged, with a frustrated moan as his sweat slicked bangs, clung uncomfortably to his flushed skin.

_Oh! _Biting his lip, he squeezed his eyes shut and broke his way through the weakened frame, away from probing eyes.

"A-ah..." he breathed out as he inched through the collection of his grandfather's things.

Sliding away from a bundle of antique posters, he flocked to the corner of the room, where he had remembered finding the Goban that had led him to Sai.

* * *

Okay, so maybe he'd forgotten more about how school worked then he'd thought.

He had never really finished highschool.

At the time it had been something akin to a burden that was eating away his time and pulling him back from improving his Go.

He'd never realized how wrong he had been until he'd started hunting for job opportunities.

In the end, he just couldn't make it in the real world without at _least _having earned a highschool degree.

So, that's why Hikaru had suddenly acquired a new _Mysterious _trait. Courtesy to Isumi-San and his X-ray eyes (his mother had gushed over the poor nervous looking boy) the blonde banged boy's nose had been stuck intently in a text book all week, until he'd memerized the idea of what it was explaining.

This was also why Hikaru knew that by the time Monday rolled around, he would, without a doubt, have a well tuned grasp of some of the more advanced concepts, from at least six chapters (in detail) ahead of the class, in every God damn, sixth grade level subject.

And sometimes it was hard to keep up with his tutor's pace.

Sure he remembered some of the stuff fom way back, but even that couldn't help against Isumi's deviously glinting eyes.

"Shindo-San," The tall dark haired teen shrugged up from his comfortable spot on Hikaru's worn out carpet, "It's five-thirty." He cast a quick glance to his wrist watch before speaking softly, "We got a lot done, but I'm going to be heading home now since I have a train to catch."

"Oh," Hikaru hummed before gradually lessened out of his concentrated stare,"Thanks for teaching me all of this," the bleached blonde gestured to the loaded heap of books at his side before setting down his own joirnal, filled from margin to margin, with scribbly notes.

The teen, who was gathering his belongings, paused.

"You catch on pretty quick." Isumi complemented with thoughtful contemplation as he took in the sight of the unruly blonde (who had the image of a mischief leading _jock._)

_The Shindo boy is a bit weird._

_Okay, very weird._

His amusment colored tone caught the attention of the deceivingly clueless looking blonde.

"What?" Hikaru's eyes flickered to meet the widening eyes of his tutor.

"N-nothing." Isumi stuttered, embarassed to have been caught thinking rude things about his 'student'. Shindo may look like a bit like a delinquent, but he... Definetly wasn't.

Much to the poor highschooler's uneasiness, Shindo at times had even displayed a disturbingly intense sense of seriousness when soaking in and interpreting particularly interesting passages within his studies.

That, or he was desperately trying to not fall asleep.

With a defeated sigh, he supposed appearences weren't everything.

Shindo had proved him wrong, and he couldn't help but feel excited about the potential the kid had to _discover _things through books...and maybe...

_Maybe sometime I could teach him Go?_

_"Bye _Isumi-sensei." Hikaru lowered his head in a brief moment of respect before slamming the door in his _Sensei's_ blank face.

_Nice. _

_I take it back. He's a brat. __I hate him and his annoying attitude!_

"Right, bye Shindo-San." he saluted to the door and pivoted on his heels out of the hall (with his shoes barely slipping on) and out the front door.

And as Isumi barely managed to catch the train, as an angry woman with an awesome ass knocked past him, he thought about Hikaru.

Laughing he smiled strangely, "I don't know what Mrs. Shindo was thinking when she said that I'd have problems teaching her son."

_He's a jerk. _

_And probably failing because of laziness. Kids often struggle with that type of thing. I'll definitely help him get over that hill._

And then he leaned his head against the cool metal walls of the train ipith a soft sigh. His head was spinning.

After all, it _had _been a long day's work, tutoring...certain blonde banged kids with bipolar attitudes. He hoped he was cut out for the job- longterm style.

* * *

"Yo! Welcome back Shindo!"

Hikaru was greeted with an onslaught of familiar faces and awed stares as he walked through the classroom entrance, with bags under his eyes.

Clearly insane rumors had spread about the _accident._

"-was like _boom!" _

Hauling his yellow backpack and binder onto his desk, he slammed past a row of desks and cluncked to the teacher's desk.

"I got abolutely _no sleep._" he grumbled to himself in a rather dark voice as he fished out a piece of paper from his back pocket.

Placing a doctor's note there, he turned to noticed a perky red-head manouvering her way past the chattering students.

"Hikaru!" Akari, skipped up at the sight of him strolling back to his desk, calmly- as the clinking cast on his leg thumped against the tile floor, before pushing his things into his desk and hobbling over towards her.

"What's up, Akari?" he was mildly surprised to find that he liked the Tom-boyish girl before him. The older one had grown out of her daring personality and had narrowed into a stickler for rules.

He also definetly preferred that she didn't completely ignore his existance because of the chittering chicks (fake preps) a few desks away.

"_Hikaru," _happy tears moistened her eyes as she met his paling face with a wimpy smile.

Surprised by her sudden wave of motion, Hikaru raised his hands up desperately. _Shit girl tears! I don't want this!_

"A-Akari! Hey! What's wrong?"

She laughed a watery laugh and then mummered shyly from behind her hands, "I'm glad to see that you're alright."

Shindo knew then, with all doubts flying out the window, that she was just the same old Akari. Cute and shy. Ready to please.

"Hey, um...Akari?" He started off tentitively.

The red-head raised her round, owlish eyes to meet his own determined pair in silent questioning.

"After second period, I'm ditching. Please tell my mom that I won't be home until eight." He spared her a quick glance before pushing past her stick thin form.

He'd thought of what he wanted to do.

_Grandpa lives on the other side of town. If I want to get there on foot, I'll have to leave soon._

_Even if this is dream...I want to see him._

"Hikaru!" The girl, Akari, cried out to the moving form of her best friend, Shindo Hikaru.

And she realized with sudden discomfort, that the boy who broke her heart, would once again be leaving her in the dust.

**Extra sentence Scene:**

Wait...was he talking to Myoko? That...girl?

_She felt a vein pulse irratically in her head. "I __hate him!_" 

* * *

**A/N: R&R? **

**Thank you to all the alerter's, favoriter's and _reviewers! _You're all AWESOME! But-**

**_I've_ been busy lately. Had a DBQ essay due for World Studies that I rushed through... :c And my dog died.**

**I had a Siberian Husky, he was old and adorable. This chapter is dedicated to him.**


	7. Uprising Of SAI

**A/N:**

**I don't own Hikaru No Go, Yumi ****Hotta does.**

**Summary:** "Shindo-San..." His friend of eight years started off uncomfortably, "You're...gay?" Akira glared accusingly at the magazine in Hikaru's hands. "What? No! No! It's not what you think!" Second chance, A.U. _Timetravel_, and a young Hikaru with a big girlish problem.

Enjoy.

* * *

It hadn't taken much to steal the key. It had been hidden under a flower pot, waiting to be picked.

He flinched.

An unsettling weight had fallen onto his chest, forcibly unnerving him to no end.

Through Cimmerian darkness, the lines between reality and hope blurred the buzzed senses of a unconventionally, familiar, blonde fringed boy.

Hikaru could feel the rush of adrenaline shooting through his veins, and into his rapidly beating heart as he peered through the clutter lining the floor.

He _had_ to be dreaming. It wasn't possible for ones heart to shoot to their throats like his own.

His already thoroughly strung nerves, tightened at the sight of the traditional footed Goban, propped carelessly at the side of a carefully boxed set of old antique glasses.

He strode forward and shoved the expensive tinkling trinkets away with a pulse jumping shatter.

His gasping, shallow breaths harshly escaped him in his moment of sudden, fluttering fear. _  
_

"_Oh..._" He swallowed the cold lump in his throat, thickly.

He was such an idiot.

Hikaru's trembling fingers, hovered silently over the old Goban's, thinly carved lines.

_It's there. _His mind whispered into his deaf ears as he pulled back a nervous smile.

"...Blood?"

Reluctantly, he tipped forward, unsure and afraid that the symbol of his ghostly friend, only inches away, would dissapear.

The dark browned, stain had sunken into the wood _years _ago, trapping in it's meaning within it.

"There's really _blood _on here!"

His finger cautiously leapt to the board, and wiped away the smudging dust, gathered by the experience of time and loneliness, reminding him of his abandonment to Sai and himself.

He smiled blossomed on his pale face as he felt the pressuring weight on his chest, drop.

And then, there was a moment of unnatural stillness in the air, before a shifting breeze, warningly prickled the rising hairs on the back of Hikaru's neck.

_"You can see it_?" A sweet, familiar voice mummered quietly from the darkness in the room, "_You can see the blood that stains this Goban?"_

_Oh._

_Shit._

Startled, Hikaru fell back and stopped breathing, "Ah-" he croaked, as a bitter feeling rose up from his stomach and into his mouth. A strange lurch of sadness, that wasn't his, fell over him like a cold shadow.

He could taste the bile, and _feel it_ rising to his head.

"Can _you hear my Voice?"_ A tremmor of emotion shook the voice of Sai as Hikaru frantically tried to push away the horrible feeling from himself.

"_You can hear ME can't you?"_

_Yesyesyes, _He chanted inwardly. Sai was here!

There was a pause before a delighted, "_You can! You can_!" Sounded out from _everywhere_. There was no source or one particular place in which the voice came from, it was a chilling feeling to experience.

The blonde slowly felt his hand creep to his heart. _He wanted to reach out, he wanted so badly to hold the individual speaking in such a lovely tone. It was horribly tempting to at least try..._

"_All powerful God I thank you." _

A warning sound blared loudly in his head.

With his eyes trained to the board-Hikaru whispered something unintelligible, and with a pained twitch of the lips he watched with wide eyes as a beautiful man, _an un-Earthly Sai_, suddenly burst from the Goban's top, like a whisp of a dream, flickering in it's own light.

Sai's milky form, burned with a ghostly light, lowered itself to the dusty floor as his pristine white, silk robes swept the ground with graceful ease.

A small smile of triumph bloomed on his feminine lips, quirking sweetly for a fleeting moment.

_"I will now return," _he declared, _"Into the world of the living._" His fan tapped the bottom of his chin confidently.

Hikaru's desperately struggled attempt to clear the foggy haze from his vision as he felt his choking emotions swarm up to his throat, squeezing his collar bone.

The delighted man swept his long hair back with a sweeping motion before meeting the determined glare of his new host.

"Sai!" Hikaru rasped. He could hardly look at the ghost without wanting to cry.

Confusion marred the expression of his once, Go menator and friend, Fujiwara No Sai.

"You know my name?" Interest was ground into the sentence, effectively bringing Hikaru into a corner.

The boy swallowed his voice thickly and confirmed, "Er, I think you mentioned it earlier-" he squeaked.

And then strangely, as the ancient spirit were listening to people in far places, his intense hold on Hikaru's bright, smoldering green eyes lessened into a distant gaze of meloncholy.

His head tipped to the side brought up buried memories that were all to familiar with the time-traveling Go player.

He gave him a steady look.

"I'm sorry, but I'll be borrowing you for a while." Sai's apologetic voice fluttered into the blonde's ears.

"Oh." he breathed out breathlessly.

And with that, Sai's overwhelming presence consumed the drifting consciousness of Shindo Hikaru, a boy who could have cared less.

He was already in too deep to back out.

* * *

**A/N: R&R? (Yes, this ****update's a wee bit late-) Fear not! I shall try to update ASAP! BTW THIS WILL BE EDITED! IT SUCKS!**

**Thanks for all of the favoriting and story alerts! WoW! ****On Sunday, (for some reason) I got like 13 story alerts and five favorites...and _almost _no reviews. :( Thanks **_lolicari**! ;D**_

**Okay, well I hope you guys sort of**_** liked **_**this chapter**_**. As always s**_**uggestions are welcome.- I'm kind of grounded for the moment, but hopefully I'll be able to write something soon. Thanks!**


	8. You Don't Say?

**A/N:**

**I don't own Hikaru No Go, Yumi ****Hotta does.**

**Summary:** "Shindo-San..." His friend of eight years started off uncomfortably, "You're...gay?" Akira glared accusingly at the magazine in Hikaru's hands. "What? No! No! It's not what you think!" Second chance, A.U. _Timetravel_, and a young Hikaru with a big girlish problem.

Enjoy.

* * *

"_God..."_

The silence of being utterly alone, slowly began to eat at him.

"_I still want to play!__" _he begged in hoarse pleads, until the itch to _touch_ something- _anything!-_For he seemed to_ be _invisible in this world_- nurtured _his budding hatred for the man who had led him to suicide.

_"Please give me the chance to reach the hand of God!"_

And then came Shindo Hikaru, a terrified little boy.

His window to the outside world.

Sai would have hugged him if he could.

* * *

He decided this was reality. It had to be.

Three days.

Sai had been _real _for three days, his presence crystal clear in haze of shock.

Hikaru pushed back the guilt he was feeling as he walked past a wandering dog. _So what if I snuck out? Mom can't kill me for leaving without notice...right?_

It was cold.

Evening was settling in while the city streets were bustling with irritated workers, itching to run home for a night's worth of relaxation and porn.

Mind you, most of the people stumbling across on _that_ particular street at _that _particular time were hard working, middle aged men, married to their _wonderful _wives.

It's just that the society was strict, and they needed to blow off steam _somehow _when their honey's were kicking them to the curb. (Or so they claimed when they eyed the short hemmed, firm backsides of the young schoolgirls flittering around after classes had ended, at the train station.)

Now, not too far away from a small corner buisness Noodle shop, a string of faint, washed out light, splashed bleakly against the concrete outside. Inside, cold shadows swarmed past the lone figure slumping weakly against the serving counter as he reluctantly set down another empty bowl of soup, with a small, ringing clink.

Next to him, set delicately on a high stool, sat a long haired man wearing a dress. His carefully painted lips turned downwards at the sight of his host, completely lost in thought.

"Hikaru..." He started off tentatively with a clenched hand, "Earlier today, you said _I_ could play Igo." His eye brow dipped to a sweeping low in anxiety, "Can I play..._now_?"

The blonde ignored his bright calls and waving hands with startling ease. Annoyed, the older looking man, dressed in Hein Era silk robes, rambled on bitterly about the unfairness of being alone on _this lonely world without Go_.

This abruptly pulled the distracted boy from his thick daze.

"Go?" He licked his bottom lip, "I-_Sai_ of course you'll play go." He paused uncomfortably, "It's just... you need to give me some time to come up with the finances to support your game." He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head, sorely.

Sadly, Hikaru needed a job. Like always, even in his childhood, he had little luck with money.

He was broken way over his head with the amount of allowance his _parents _loaned out to him. To pay for a game of Go, at a decent salon for a session, it cost about 1100 yen. His allowance per week maxed out to around 300 yen- and that was if he was _lucky. _

And unluckily, it seemed that his previous grades from before the tutoring just weren't cutting it for his parents.

"So," he smiled thickly, "Wait a few weeks?" He bit his lip, "Hah?" He attempted to brush off his disappointment before the ghost could see it on his face, and failed.

"Hikaru!" Sai felt a harsh pang of hurt fill his chest, "Don't take me for a child!"

His color faded, worn fan immediately slapped to his host's cheek as bright marks of frustration spotted the ghost's own pale complected face.

Sai pressed his lips together in a thin line of disapproval.

Hikaru gaped in mild alarm.

Goosebumbs prickled over his shoulders and back. "E-eh?" Unwillingly he shivered into the glaring man's fan.

His lips parted at the _feeling._

For second he'd thought he had _felt _the course paper teasingly brush against his skin.

Surprised, Hikaru blinked wearily and raised a hand in his own poor, half assed defense.

"Sai?" His tone hardened.

_Shit! He won't get upset and run away will he? _Hikaru, suddenly insecure, fretted.

Sai's frown deepened, "Why didn't you tell me that you were in such a bad situation?" He demanded (not feeling least bit guilty at striking his host) to the green eyed boy, blowing up the problem, that really wasn't much of a big deal. (Or at least to Shindo it wasn't)

Gathering his wits the frazzled boy defrosted from his frozen attitude. "Woah- woah!" Hikaru started off in a relieved tone, "Relax! There's no problem! I just don't think my mother would start wanting to pay for my sudden trips to smoke filled Go salons!"

His voice turned weak at the memory of how hard it had been before to finally convince his mom to allow him to train as an _insei, _nevermind the fact that she had always silently refused to actually support the game that had taken her baby boy away from her.

"What do you mean... It's not a big deal?" His companions concerned worries met his left ear, warmly.

Hikaru shook his head with a small smile as he nudged the worried Sai away from him.

The ghost whined.

"You know," he laughed, "I'm pretty sure I know a place that they'll let us in for an IOU..." he let the sentence drag as he fumbled around thoughtfully.

_Touya's place should...maybe._

Backtracking, the feminine ghost blanked and muttered curiously, "What's an I-Oh Youu?"

The blonde glanced towards the milky skinned man and waved away the question without much thought.

"Doesn't matter," Hikaru's fingers tapped impatiently on the counter, "but I think we might be able to play today if we rush out of here." He replied slowly.

"Oh." Sai's mood sharpened at the sudden spike of anticipation running through his fingers, "Will I get to play you in a game?"

He wanted to play the boy that had given him the chance to experience playing _Go _again.

There was a long pause on Hikaru's side as he stared numbly at his invisible attachment in weak dismay.

"No Sai," He paled at what he would say say next. "I don't play Go."

With his nervous excitement fading, the blonde pushed his empty bowls of ramen aside with more force then neccisary.

Sticking his tongue out, grudgingly he dug into his faded jeans and slammed a few yen onto the table.

"Let's go." He called out to his bewildered friend.

"_You don't play?" _There was an almost depressed tone in his exclamation. _  
_

Frowning, Hikaru skillfully shrugged off the amused stares of the fellow customers sharing his counter with practiced ease.

"Yeah." He bent his head away from the prying ghost's insistant gawking.

The ringing door slammed behind them with a satisfying 'thump' as an eruption of talk and laughter boiled in their sizzling wake.

* * *

**A/N: WHAT! 10 awesome Alerts! Ahhhhghhhh! I'm sooooo happy! R&RRRR! :'D but this chapter sucked. Don't worry revisions will be in order.**

**_So_ did I ever mention I have a hobby outside of obssesing over Hikaru No Go? Lol, probably not. Well, anyway this past week I've been practicing for an upcomming music recital.** (**_I'm nervous as Fuuuu-!_**_) **And I'll b**_**e ****playing Bach Double, in D minor with my duet partner Alex. Wish me luck! Violin kicks ass!**


	9. It's The Twenty First Century!

**A/N:**

**I** don't** own Hikaru No Go, Yumi ****Hotta does.**

**Summary:** "Shindo-San..." His friend of eight years started off uncomfortably, "You're...gay?" Akira glared accusingly at the magazine in Hikaru's hands. "What? No! No! It's not what you think!" Second chance, A.U. _Timetravel_, and a young Hikaru with a big girlish problem.

Enjoy.

* * *

The sign said in clear bold, **We do not accept IOU's!**

Hikaru thought if anything, that was a bit stupid.

"_- victim, this time a young boy in his mid-teens. Parents! Please be careful about letting your children walk home alone from school..."_

Daylight was quickly dwindling with the passing minutes as a young, short, blonde banged boy awkwardly shuffled his way past old men and women, and shimmied inconspiciously into a familiar family business 'Go' salon.

Silent shadows's clung to the ghostly figure accompanying a curiously quiet Shindo Hikaru, who seemed to be calmly ignoring a very clingy Sai with averted eyes as he stood behind an older man at the counter.

His head twitched. He _needed_ to see_ Sai. _His eyes itched to make sure the presence he felt wasn't just from his imagination.

His foot tapped edgily on his heels as he discreetly turned to stare blankly at Sai. He still couldn't believe _he was here, _next to _him._

Sai, noticing the sudden attention on him, smiled. _Because really a calm Hikaru was an adorable Hikaru._

"_And now! Tanya-San reporting in from Moscow! Recently it seems a new game has become popular with-"__  
_

"Hikaru..." The instantly intrigued ghost started hesitantly, "what's that box doing?" The spirit slid closer to the television hanging from the wall in curious bewilderment. "Why is it _talking?_"

Hikaru blinked in surprise at the natural innocence the ghost carried on him. He was almost like a cute _bubbly child, _only obviously _not_ a child.

When he left the ghost to think alone, Sai would sink into depression.

_Of course he would! He commited suicide. That's... such a weak way to die. Who wouldn't be miserable?_

With wary apprehension the older of the two, still staring at Hikaru, nervously touched the screen.

"Is this magic?" Sai worriedly bit his lip, "Is this _dark _magic?"

Fighting back amused laughter, Hikaru instead shook his head- which predictably went unnoticed by the friendly ghost.

_SHWWWSSHH!_ An angry, weird, hissing, spitting sound erupted from the T.V., startling everyone in the lobby as the talking box sparked electric.

"Aeeehh!"

And then faster than he could blink the Igo loving ghost was at Hikaru's side, nervously pulled away from the buzzing screen as he rapidly twittered his fan (which had appeared from nowhere), in embarassed flutters. The noise had sent his nonexistent heart into an _electric_ shock.

"S-Sai," Hikaru stuttered at the cold feeling on his neck, where his companion's silky dark hair had brushed past in a sweeping motion, bringing goosebumps to his skin.

"Sorry, Hikaru-San." The ghost apologized with sudden unecissary honorifics, mortified at his lacking display of manners.

"I'll get that," the man in front of Hikaru bravely announced this to the pretty woman up front, "Just don't you worry your pretty head about anything, Mrs. Ichikawa-San." he winked

"Thank you, Kuroko-San!" She cheered brightly and then waved lamely at his back with tightening smile.

"-such a pervert." She pressed a phone to her ear with an intense expression. "Ah, yes...I know!" She giggled.

Hikaru, finally noticing Sai's strange behavior stepped in to help him out, "You know, it's called television," the blonde smiled a bit, "And don't worry it's not made of magic- it's just made of...stuff I never bothered to learn about." his words were murmured lowly, from under his breath.

Sai carefully pretended to understand what the boy had meant before quickly chosing to swerve his attention to Igo with gleaming intent.

_"A game! We can play a game? Yes, yes?"_

_Hikaru's_ distracted gaze swept past the ghostly companion's sparkling smile, to meet the busily chatting receptionist at the counter. She must have continued her conversation after the man had left.

Then, as if she sensed a presence, her hands fluttered across a form, before clumsily handing the sheets to Hikaru without even one glance his way.

"_Yes! I_ never thought _she'd _land the job!" Realising how loud that exclamation was, she quickly covered a hand to her mouth.

Feeling a tad annoyed, Hikaru brushed away his irritation with thoughts about how pissed his mom was going to be once he got home. If his memory served him right, he'd probably be forced to help his grandfather clean out his house _again._

"One game," his boyish voice startled the woman as he placed a few crumpled yen onto her mess of mid-organized folders before continuing uncertaintly, "for an hour?"

The brown haired woman paused from her 'business' conversation with the individual on the phone, to scruntinize the newbie kid before her. "First time?" She raised a brow at his nodding, "Yes-" he strarted, "Can anyone play here?"

His tone caught her and a certain ghost by surpise. "H-Hikaru..." Sai let his fan drop to his side. _That was disrespectful, especially to a woman!_

Hikaru felt his nerves tingle at her unmerciful glare.

"...Sweetie this...isn't enough." A small smile of (true) sympathy curved the edges of her lips, making his frown fall even deeper (for he felt something suddenly tug violently at his stomach).

The rude kid wanted to play _Go, _and just didn't have the cash to reach to the more helpful experiences. Her heart wrenched at the fallen expression on his face. He looked at her, heartbroken.

She watched the small boy bite his lip in distress. Although unknown to her, he had a ghost beside him who had unwillingly hit him with a crushing wave of depression. As a result, it caused him to suddenly want to do something terribly embarrassing.

Like cry in public.

Mentally he kicked himself for looking like such a wussy. _He was MAN damn it! _Reluctantly, he felt his calm persona slipNor the sake of his...plan.

_Trick a woman into feeling sorry for him, with the help of his boy-ish charms?_

_'For Sai, only for Sai.' _he thought weakly to himself- forgetting for a moment that the spirit himself could hear his ungaurded thoughts.

Vaguely the woman up front, Ms...whoever, noticed (with a sly glance to the clock hanging by the exit) that it was almost almost seven-thirty, and that boys his age shouldn't be running around loose at this time in Tokyo.

_'What was this boy's mother thinking (?) letting a kid this age out the late at night? Poor kid, probably is neglected at home... _She took in the sight of his baggy clothes and dyed hair with undisguised pity.

"It's all I have ma'am." the blonde lowered his eyes to his shoes, "Can I play a game? Please?"

"Ah, well- I," her tone wavered uncertainly before she was cut off by an approaching figure. Gasping, she quickly ran her fingers through her hair in a desperate attemp to look presentable.

"A-Akira-Kun?" Ichikawa's cheeks reddened.

The boy, looking about only a hair manlier then Sai, bowed his head in greeting to the desk secretary. Politeness oozed off of the boy in thick waves, nearly making Hikaru squirm to the door as he eyed the blonde up.

It was unusual to see people his age around in the salon. Nodding inwardly, he decided to take advantage of the opportunity in the most round about way he could.

"Ichikawa-San, it's his first time here." Touya Akira smiled sweetly to the blushing woman, "How about you give him a free game?"

She could only stutter in response as the blonde snatched the money from her hands and followed a quickly dissapearing Touya, hot on his heels.

Apparently, anything was possible for Touya Akira.

* * *

**A/N: R&R Late Update because of FINALS. I spent most of my time _studying. Aughhh _the horror! Thank God it's over and now I'm officially on Summer Break! ANDYou guys are freaking awesome! And so...As a treat- in ****the next chapter, by random, I will rant about one of my reviewers. For example: **_You'll just have to wait and see_**. Ga-ha-ha-gmwah-ha-ha! Btw... This chapter should have been posted a couple days ago...I'm sorry.**


	10. Beginner's Luck

**A/N:**

**I don't own Hikaru No Go, Yumi ****Hotta does.**

**Summary:** "Shindo-San..." His friend of eight years started off uncomfortably, "You're...gay?" Akira glared accusingly at the magazine in Hikaru's hands. "What? No! No! It's not what you think!" Second chance, A.U. Timetravel, and a young Hikaru with a big girlish problem.

Enjoy.

* * *

He was smiling now. So subtly it could have been a trick of the light had Shindo known no better.

It had him wondering if Sai had always been so _happy._

The only thing Hikaru could remember, was that the ghost had always been filled with a bubbling curiosity for modern life. Just like with the Television, Sai would be drawn to technology like a moth to a flaming candle. And if Hikaru searched far enough into his memories, he would remember Sai feeling a familiar type of longing to play the game he had always been so attached to when Hikaru had refused to let him play- still hacking through him strongly, all along.

Any genuine happiness the ghost may have felt earlier had seemingly fallen into a storm of feelings his old bratty self hadn't bothered to pick through.

Hikaru, of course never understood pride. His teacher had been proud to see his fledgling grow.

So _proud._

Distracted, Shindo could hear the gasping of Sai's tears and excitement to play an opponent for the first time in a remarkable number of_ years- which _had caused a discomforting lump of emotion to form in his throat as the ghost sat by his side in a formal seiza-styled fashion. His companion's fan, smoothly brought out, breathed air onto the plaine of his red tinged face. Ignoring the heat that rose past his chest and over his ears, Hikaru instead chose to quietly look away from the young Akira's disbelieving stare.

He'd finally stopped his nervous babbling once the game was set in motion, only to be stopped by Touya and his reluctant acceptance to comprehend his last opinion.

"Are... are you sure you wouldn't prefer a handicap?" Touya stumbled through his stabbing incredulity with a feeling of pity for the poor idiot who'd dared to think he could play an even game with a piece of _something _like him.

Of course he kept his mouth shut (in order not to pour out his thoughts in a careless manner) for he knew better then to act disgraceful- in his own father's salon no less!

"I'm pretty good, so there's no need to worry about it...and I mean we are around the same age. Right?"

Prickling with a foreign feeling (to tape the blonde's mouth shut because maybe then he'd stop laughing at him silently)of absolute annoyance, Akira repressed an itching desire to shudder.

"Ah."

Meanwhile, Hikaru's carefully wandering gaze landed discretely on the sight of his former sensei, who seemed to be absolutely _glowing _in unrestrained delight. Hikaru felt content with seeing Sai so... _happy, _and so alive (or as alive as a ghost could possibly be) before his eyes.

His companion's softened features shone with a childish glee, something unfamiliar to his own badly handicapped mindset (crippled from a harsher adult life than excpected). Unhappily, he brushed away his distracting thoughts and turned (with a suspicious glint in his eye) to rile up the much too polite Touya, with a playful grin.

"Come on, Nigiri!" Touya exclaimed, feeling almost disturbed under the stranger's confident smile. _The blonde is most definitely an ameture. _While that wasn't something to worry about, Akira couldn't help but feel that he could be spending his time doing something more _benefitting_ for himself, like playing one of his father's friends in a (mock game of go, since they were professionals and he- still a student) challenging game.

Immediately Hikaru's attitude changed. (This raised eyebrows from the small group of men huddled over Touya's thin shoulder.) His boyish face hardened around the edges and sharpened into something one could call, determination. Sai's determination.

The tension in the sufficating room was thick enough to cut through with a butter knife. Or least for a suddenly battle ready ghost, it was.

Hikaru had always known of Sai's personality change when it came to go. As a kid he had been a brat, not a helpless idiot. Sai... He was a Go freak and Hikaru didn't bother thinking otherwise. He'd be lying if he was.

"I'm black," Hikaru announced to the suddenly more at ease Touya who'd nodded in reply. "Right."

Sai bowed his head, just as Akira's head lowered, politely. "Please."

Hikaru followed the greeting at a lagging pace.

"I sorry, but I play pretty slow," the blonde laughed to himself, "forgive me for that." With a deliberately beginner styled 'grabbing' type of hold, Hikaru plopped the stone down onto the board with an echoing _clack! _Sai's firmly ordered move _still ringing in his ears._

_'17-11' _Sai's lips nearly touched Hikaru's ears as he unnecessarily whispered his desired moves into the willing vessel beside him. _It was below him to posses a body._

This time, Akira struggled to keep a blank face as he inwardly mourned over the thought of playing a true _noobie. It _wouldn't be fair, it would be a slaughter!

Placing down a white stone near Hikaru's place, Akira waited patiently for the blonde to make his move.

_Pachi _

Shindo had finally set his stone down after what had seemed like a good minute of solid thinking. Albiet was a wobbly move, (his stone scratched at the board in it's trembling place.) showing inexperience to the unexperienced.

_Pachi _

Akira slowed his reaction pace down a notch, deciding it'd be best to perhaps relax and not crush the poor boy.

_Pachi Pachi!_

_Pachi_

_Pachi! Pachi! Pachi!_

And then gradually, Touya started noticing something _odd. _Something that had him smiling a little. '_He's not bad.'_ Akira placed own another stone with clean fluidity, 'I_ see some decent moves around the outside of my cluster.'_

_Pachi!_

Pausing Akira felt a rush of cold grab his thoughts.

"...What?"

Shindo's impossibly green eyes held him in his place, frozen. Akira smiled, "Nothing, stranger-San." he ignored the look on the blonde's face- for it was uncharacteristically holding pity. Pity for him. _Why would he pity him? _Was he trying to insult him?

And then just as quickly as it had appeared, the emotion flew off of the blonde's face, leaving it strangely blank.

The stranger didn't seem like the type to hold such an expression.

_PACHI _

The sound seemed louder now, harsher to his ears.

The young prodigy swallowed his growing agitation in silence. _'My moves aren't getting through.' H_e stared at the boy before him, sitting in seiza_, 'His moves are random and I still haven't managed to end the game! Why is it dragging?'_

_Pachi_

He was feeling small now as his eyes slid over the board again and again and _again._

_PACHI_

_'That move...!' Touya gaped _at the lone stone shimmering in it's glossy coat over it's seemingly random spot, on the dotted space of the goban top. His world felt as if it were being pried open, wide enough for him to be forced to react._  
_

_He- he's measuring my ability..._ He squashed the surge of anger trickling inside of him firmly and instead turned to quickly grinding his teeth together, furiously mashing away the hurt.

_'This person-' _Akira felt his head drop into his palms_. __This couldn't be real. He "_This cannot be real." A man behind him, a former star student of his, echoed his thoughts aloud.

"What? What is it Takai-San?" A fellow man nudged the gapping man out of his shock.

"He- he..."

_Touya Akira _lost to a nobody. His hands trembled under the the frustration building up inside of him.

"What? What?"

The man swallowed thickly, "Akira sensei... I think he lost."

"Nonsense!" The other exclaimed loudly, drawing new attention to the game.

And before the stranger could humiliate him any further, Touya Akira picked up his head and resigned to the strange boy before him.

_'He's playing, he's playing from somewhere far above!'_

Later he'd hear from Ichikawa-San that the boy's name was unknown and that he'd left no contact information. Touya's growing interest would burn throughout him and later that night, while at home with his mother and father in the other room, Akira would study the game for a good few hours before bedtime- longing to meet the blonde who'd thoroughly defeated him.

"-Please leave your message for Sento High School after the beep, thank you." _Beep_

_"_Hello, this is Touya Akira speaking. I-" there was a muffled pause as he took a breathe, "I was wondering if you could do a favor for me..."

He'd drag Stranger-San into the Go world if it killed him.

To bad it'd take him another few days to figure out he'd been playing a teaching game. So much for a few moku defeat, because he'd been _thrashed around _by a happy go-lucky ghost and a blonde banged time-traveler.

"He looked to be around the age thirteen?" there was a pause, "And if I recall correctly, he had blonde bangs..."

It was the start of a teeny, tiny, wave. One that would soon drown them all.

* * *

**R&R? Okay Sorry for the late update! I've been staying at my dad's for a couple of weeks and havn't felt much like writing. But here you go hopefully decent-ish? Oh & if you haven't noticed, there are some minor edits through the story. Look if u want to! Now, person of the day!**

**Cloclo neechan! Thanks for reviewing and suggesting things (also to u reviewers ;P) you're awesome! And if my eyes do not deceive me you are from France? That's pretty cool. :D hope you enjoyed this chapter! **


	11. Macho Man

**A/N:**

**I don't own Hikaru No Go, Yumi ****Hotta does.**

**Summary:** "Shindo-San..." His friend of eight years started off uncomfortably, "You're...gay?" Akira glared accusingly at the magazine in Hikaru's hands. "What? No! No! It's not what you think!" Second chance, A.U. Timetravel, and a young Hikaru with a big girlish problem.

Enjoy.

* * *

Day light was pretty much burnt out by the time a teenage boy, curiously resembling a certain Shinichiro Isumi, noticed anything strange as he watered his grandmother's flowers with grim acceptance. His day had been a long one, filled with impossible school work and Go.

...And a very pretty girl.

And to him, he was already getting friendly with the fact that _Hormones sucked the life and energy out of you. _Although, with his loud, cheerful whistling, it didn't seem like he minded much.

This acutely translated to a whole night's worth of thinking about his poor (but awesome-when-staring-at-your-crush's-chest) teenage life in la-la land.

As a result he didn't even bat a lash when a young boy came dashing (and hopping) through his grandma's walkway- like a one legged rabbit on broken toes.

Nope, he was in the clevage shaped _clouds._

And he would officially stay in the clouds until the flowers (he was the paying upmost attention to) drowned from an overdose of icy cold water.

Yeah, he needed some of that.

* * *

With brightly flushed cheeks, Shindo's gasping breath evaporated into the cool, late evening air of Tokyo as he struggled to keep his fast paced steps even. The irregular rhythm jarred his numbed leg as the phantom pain from the car accident, haunting his conscience, hollowed through the shank of his bone starting from the knee cap down.

Sweeping past a deserted alley, his thoughts strayed off of his game with Touya and onto which route made way for the quickest short-cut to the train station. He needed to get home _soon._

His shadow stretched over the pooling street lights, rippling with his movements as he quickly jogged through a narrow gangway filled with bland granny pots, stuffed with dried tulips. Tilting his head back, Hikaru could make out the refulgent figure of his fellow, deceased companion, trailing nervously behind.

Throughout their journey home, Hikaru had noticed Sai's constant wariness to almost every moving thing in sight. The teenage girls dressed in their formal school uniforms, chirping about the latest K Pop stars, hadn't startled the ghost (although he had kicked up quite the fuss) as much as the cars rushing forward through the neiborhood streets had.

Hikaru had noticed, and it made him worry. The feeling of being alienated, emitting from the ghost hadn't helped much to keep his nerves from fraying either.

Eyes squeezed shut in discomfort, Hikaru bliantly ignored the fact that Sai hasinces poken a word sincd leaving the Igo salon.

So, when the ghost finally tried his first attempt at vocalizing his concerns, Hikaru felt the distinct feeling of relief rushing between their mental link as Sai's determined stare prickled on the skin of Hikaru's back, drawing attention to the unusually solemn ghost.

"Hikaru," Sai quickly followed the blonde out of the pleasantly shaded neiborhood and skittered onto the pedestrian opening of the closest busy street with pursed lips, "How close are we to your home?" his body language stayed forcibly calm- even as a sleek motercycle pumping thick exaughstion into the air, whipped past his limping host with disturbing closeness.

Perking at the question, Hikaru's softened malachite, green gaze landed onto his 'friend's' apprehensive stare.

"Soon," he paused to pat Sai's head (for the spirit had kneeled down to reach the boy's short height), "don't worry Sai." He comforted before turning away to cross the street, leaving Sai standing alone, leaning into empty warmth, as the civilians walking in the opposite direction mixed around him.

_Don't leave me behind! _He bit his lip anxiously, terrified to be left alone in a strange place.

"Hikaruuuu...!" The handsome ghost whined as he chased at his young companion's parting figure with lips firmly pressed shut.

He had a _bad _feeling and being left behind wasn't soothing his nerves.

_Maybe I'm just being paranoid? _His fingers tightened into a fist, "Hikaru..." he caught up to his back, "Slow down!" the boy seemed startled at the sound of his voice, "Why don't we take a break?" he glanced at the boy's sweating face, turning to smile at him with barely concealed flinch.

"I'm fine." he tried to assure the ghost but stopped at incredulous stare, "Just...my leg hurts a little." he admitted before turning away, embarassed.

Sai wasn't impressed. "Let's sit down, Hikaru."

Hikaru stared at him with wide eyes. "...No, I'm fine Sai. See?" he jumped on the leg he had been favoring, "I'm good to go!"

"Your other...leg doesn't seem fine to me." he pursed his lips together, hoping to look a little intimidating.

"Hikaru let out a breathy sigh, "Okay...okay." he glared, "Let's find a damn bench."

"Hikaru!"

"Sorry." he rubbed his neck awkwardly, "I meant, let's find a nice, conveniently close bench to rest on."

The feminine ghost smiled. "I'm glad you can take a hint." he commented easily, before dodging an insulted look from his host with a backwards glance to the crowd swarming behind.

"You're pretty rude yourself." Hikaru muttered teasingly.

Sai had the decency to flush a pretty pink color as he walked slowly by Hikaru's side, in silence.

* * *

He was tired.

So very, very _tired _and staring at a Go board hours _with no clue _as to how a boy his age had come up with such an ingenious way to play- and not be _known anywhere!- _stumped him. It was like winning the lottery and then finding out that _oops _you didn't really win. It was just a fluke. And that kid was just really some figement of imagination that you dreamed up when bored.

It was like the blonde didn't exist.

Touya Akira was a good son, an excellent school student and a respected Go player recognized for keeping the older Dan on their toes. He alone as a child- played a major influence on the younger generation, pressuring them to compete with quality Go.

Although he really didn't have much of social life, he was liked well enough by his father's students. He knew that by being a Go champion among gifted children, it made making friends, something of an inconvenience that was to be expected in his path in life. He _knew _it.

But running into your own possible rival, one that wasn't even _known, _hadn't been expected either.

That boy, that _boy, _had played Shidougo_ against him!_

He hadn't anicipated that either when suffering a crushing defeat in his own father's Go salon with such an old fashioned style of playing. The game-

_The Shidougo game. _He reminded himself, He hadn't_ even noticed his upcoming doom until the last possible moment!  
_

Tugging at the edges of his hair, Akira growled, "Who wins like this and can get away with it?"_  
_

_Maybe he's in one of the older News Papers, winning ameture tornements or something..._

The shame that had soon after his defeat assulted him blindly, had forced him to see how much further he go, how much higher he could _reach _if he had someone to climb to top with.

He could become _better, and they WOULD become friendly rivals- no doubt._

Now the only problem was finding that person. And for Touya Akira, this was starting to get ridiculous.

"Maybe he's not in highschool?" He frowned.

Things just definetly weren't looking to good (in the finding out the weird blondie research thing) when concerning the stranger with talented Go skills.

Resigned, he replayed the game that had him stumbling in his own tracks, with a worn out sigh.

* * *

"He was never like this!_" _

Hikaru's sweat slicked skin licked at his damp yellow shirt as his tired eyes widened to owlish proportions. Stumbling away from the open door and back onto his front porch, he stared blankly at the sight of his mother, hissing into the phone. Furious.

"Masao- don't you _dare!_" Her voice cracked, "He's not drinking, and he's not doing drugs-" She stopped to listen her husband say something before replying, "_No, _when he comes home I'll _kill_ him myself_." _Her pale face, wrung tired from hours of waiting for her son to return home safely, turned to his own flushed face, quietly.

"You!" The line disconnected as she rushed towards her son, touching the side of his bruised face, horrified.

He cringed as she pulled him in, tugging at his arms, scared.

Muted horror tuned to burning hot anger, rekindled fom her previous displeasure,"What the _hell_ have you been doing?" Her words stabbed murderously at not only her son but at also her own traitorous thoughts.

She remembered the doctor's words back at the hospital, back when she had spent _hours_ everyday waiting for her baby to wake up, heating at her red ears, "Your son has traces of alcohol in his system, hand shaped bruises were found and it's possible that DCFS may want to get involved..."

Was here son hanging around a wrong type of crowd? Was he in a _gang? _

Her Hikaru... Was he hurting people?

Ignoring how sweaty the boy was, she hugged him tightly, squeezing the air out of the blonde's lungs. Worried she was loosing her son to some outsiders.

Together they fell to the floor, with Hikaru unable to support himself upwards.

"M-mom... I'm _fine!" _

_"I'm not!" _She snapped with hysteria creeping into her tone as her son trembled in her arms, eyes unwillingly filling with tears. He was _hurt!_

"What happened to you?" Her words were sharp, slicing into Hikaru's shaken persona. _Please don't tell me you were fighting with some dangerous people. __Please!_

_"_I...was..." He couldn't speak. He was embarassed. And he felt heavy on his knees as he swayed.

"I was attacked by a stranger who wanted a fight." He awkwardly looked down at the floral groovings in the tiled floor, with pinched eyebrows, staring- as if they were the most interesting things, "I didn't know what to do- and I couldn't run, my leg..." _I'm in pain, and I'm scared. _Although unsaid, the words were heard by his mother and hesitantly by Sai.

What kind of man was he if he couldn't fight back from an asshole who wanted to rob defenseless kids? What if something worse then being beat up had happened?

"Hikaru..." she said more gently now, cupping his pale face in her hands, "Clean up, we're going to file a police report."

His mouth stretched into a twitching grimace in a strained effort to hold back a shuddering breath.

_Don't touch me! You're making me feel worse!_

It was embarrassing enough that he was covered in bruises, but when the tears unfavorably fell from his eyes and the first real sob started, everything went sliding down hill from there.

"Hah-" rushing air blew past his lips and onto his mother's scrunched up face.

"Mm.." he liked to think that he was shedding manly tears...for the sake of his quickly dwindling pride.

"M-mom..." he stuttered, "Can you help me up the stairs?"

But, there's only so much a time traveling man can take when flooded with boyish hormones- in the arms of a mother supporting his torn feelings.

_Gosh._

_"_Hikaru," his mother tried to smile, "Of course I'll help you. I'll go and draw the bath too, okay?"

In response, he tightened his hold on her and buried his burning face into her neck, away from Sai's forever sharp eyes.

* * *

A/N: I'm mean? :'( Yes, but Hikaru needed to know how dangerous it was to ditch school, travel alone on an injured leg and try to do so when a criminal was on the loose. Lol I feel bad doing it, but this leads into the nexxxxt chapter!

Please R&R! I love the reviewers who take the time to do so. Seriously it brightens my day 120%!


	12. Cute Kid

**A/N:**

**I don't own Hikaru No Go, Yumi ****Hotta does.**

**Summary:** "Shindo-San..." His friend of eight years started off uncomfortably, "You're...gay?" Akira glared accusingly at the magazine in Hikaru's hands. "What? No! No! It's not what you think!" Second chance, A.U. Timetravel, and a young Hikaru with a big girlish problem.

Enjoy.

* * *

Shindo jumped, the hair on his neck rising like a displeased Tom-cat meeting it's reflection.

"Hmm," A small frown tugged at the corner of his mouth, effectively pulling down his perplexed mood with it. To him, it was disturbing to see the solemn faced boy before him hide his bandaged face behind wrapped hands, ashamed.

"...afternoon, sensei." he heard a garbled greeting from the small boy and quickly responded back with a short hello. Swiftly sitting down he nimbly sorted out the mixed text books from his worn bag and carefully threw them in front of the blonde.

Glancing away from the blonde, he awkwardly squirmed into a more formal position, hoping the loud clanging of the books hitting the table would bring his young student out of his brooding thoughts.

"I forgot you'd be here today." Hikaru mummered almost to quietly for him to hear as he turned through the crunching papers.

"Oh," he scratched the back of his head, "that's fine."

Sitting seiza styled in Shindo Hikaru's room, Shinichiro Isumi blandly flipped through another set of graded papers and broke the electric tension between them with a question that seemed to burn the poor boy like a vampire to the sun.

"So...did you get trampled in a football match or something?"

He watched Hikaru flinchingly slide his sweaty hands from his red face and force an unconvincing smile at him, "S-something like that." he responded without his usual wise-ass reply, startling the already prickling honor student.

"Ah," he decided to leave the issue alone and focused on the good news he had on hand.

"Take this."

Handing over a curiously red inked scribbled on sheet, he nodded approvingly when the heavily patched boy in front of him stared at him, blinked, and then cracked a smile. Cracked a real one.

"...I passed?"

Isumi laughed, "Of course, you've been studying this particular subject all week- I made sure you'd be prepared!"

Brightness swung back into the boy's eyes.

"...Yes! Oh Yeah! An _A _in _History!_" Breathless Hikaru jumped from his cross legged position to excitedly pump his fist into the air as he leaned over the table and it's spread out books.

"See what happens when you study?" The highschooler smiled gently as he patted the blonde banged boy's head with sporadically spaced pats. He felt _proud_ to see that if Hikaru put his head to it, then he could reach his goals.

Now he wondered, somewhere on the back of his mind, if he should introduce Shindo-Kun to his favorite hobby, Go.

Maybe sometime in the future. Perhaps he'd even get good at it after a while...

"Good job Hikaru-San!" he praised, feeling almost wistful. Warmly, he wondered if this was how it felt like to have a little brother.

_He's cute, I'm sure Waya would like him._

* * *

Hikaru stared at Sai, fluttering about in his pretty robes, clinging to him and pulling at his yellow shirt.

"Yeah, yeah...you _were _right." he clapped his hands together, "So do you want to play Go? I'm sure mom will let me go to grandpa's." he pulled at his fringe and swept a stray hair aside.

Sai appreciated the offer, really he did- but some things are just more important then others.

The femininely handsome ghost quickly pushed down his craving to play and struggled though his guilt.

He couldn't breathe.

"You're not feeling well, I cannot let you travel like this and I can't believe I let you do so when injured!" His pale face turned pastier at the sight of Hikaru's newly wrapped leg.

He had heard his hosts mother cry.

He had heard _Hikaru _cry.

The boy, he had had hobby- a life's dream before he'd walked into his life hadn't he? Football, he'd heard the slickly dressed doctor say. He didn't exactly know what Football was, but it most certainly wasn't _Go._

_"...-W,"_

Hikaru on the other hand felt as if he had been struck, "What?" he tried his best to stick out his dry words from his suddenly drier mouth, "Sai, I wanted you to play! It's not your fault I got jumped by some loser...I-" he flushed a deep red, "I'm the idiot who can't defend himself."

"I," Hikaru stopped talking, suddenly feeling overly self conscious at his lack of skill.

Sai felt himself step back one. _He understood the feeling of helplessness._

When he had been growing up, even with a weak body like his, he had been expected to be able to defend himself in the art sword play and hunting. Especially since the Fujiwara Clan had been a warrior one.

Although he could fully understand that Hikaru was going to have to be a little immature- he was twelve after all- he couldn't understand why Hikaru didn't just accept his defeat and strive for winning a new battle.

A striking thought hit him._ Maybe he needed guidance_?

Still, he could empathize with Hikaru's buzzing feelings through his consience past memories and through their link.

Because Once upon a time even he had been weak in Go. And struggling through things could only make a person stronger.

"I'm sorry Hikaru-Kun." He couldn't find the heart to fight back.

If he could pay Hikaru back for screwing things up- (not protecting his host and almost letting him die like Tojiro) he would do it. Fumbling with his yellow fan, Sai picked up his courage and looked into Hikaru's impossibly green and bashful stare.

Briefly his thoughts flickered to the boy's prowlingly defensive stance and his impressivly red face. It was almost..._cute._

"Learn Go! I'll teach you. Please."

Hikaru could only splutter on his own words. "W-what?"

Sai, right there and then, decided that Hikaru's flustered face was indeed quite cute.

* * *

A/N: **Man, I love you guys! So here's an early-ish update! And as for guest reviews (in which I cannot reply to,) thank you for your support! :D And I'm sorry I haven't been updating every other day, :X but I'll make an effort to try! Thanks again! You really did bring my spirits up 120%!**


	13. Might As Well Poke You In The Eye

**A/N:**

**I don't own Hikaru No Go, Yumi ****Hotta does.**

**Summary:** "Shindo-San..." His friend of eight years started off uncomfortably, "You're...gay?" Akira glared accusingly at the magazine in Hikaru's hands. "What? No! No! It's not what you think!" Second chance, A.U. Timetravel, and a young Hikaru with a big girlish problem.

Enjoy.

* * *

While tiredly sitting on his front porch, brooding like some character out of a tragic manga, and as if realizing a dark epiphany, Shindo knew staring sullenly at Sai like some surprised idiot, would get him _nowhere_.

So how do you suppose he brought himself out of his bewildered stupification?

_He didn't._

"S-Sai..." he stuttered, palms suddenly raising high behind his head, "..._I _don't play Go."

At the ghost's blank stare, he continued, "It's just not _my _thing!" he bit his lip, worried that he'd somehow offended his friend. After all, Go had been the cause of his _death._

He quavered, "I really don't even know how to play the game!"

And unfortunately for Hikaru, his hope was punctured once he recognized the look gleaming in the older spirit's dark, wine colored eyes. _Determination._

Damn it- he'd forgotten Sai _liked _challenges. He had literally stuck around after death for it!

To the Go obsessed spirit, nothing beat grabbing something out of reach- and in this situation, Hikaru's best interests lay in the spirit's ghostly hands.

"You know-," the blonde started off, mentally preparing for long winding speech on how Go _just wasn't his thing_ when suddenly, he was abruptly interrupted by a familiar voice.

Without showing much of a visible reaction on his face, (besides a slow cautious blink) Hikaru couldn't stop the strange shiver of shock that scurried through him, leaving a trail of hot prickling needles behind in it's wake.

"Hikaru!" he turned slowly to his side, watching the front door creak open as he bit his tongue, effectively stopping his (would be) rant. Cautiously, the time-traveling boy's mother appeared from behind a screen door, and peered down at her ghastly faced son with a wanning smile, failing on her painted lips.

His intensely unpleased expression surprised her as she pushed past the door and squatted down to his eye-level, squinting. Eyebrows pulled together, she quietly noticed the subtle shaking in his hands.

She watched him fidget under her puzzled stare.

"Are you okay?" She asked, suddenly bumbling over him, worried his leg was starting to bother him again. Her son was idiot. He could've bumped it or something!

His attempt at a smile was drowned behind a choking grimace.

"Do you need meds?" she offered, awkwardly, knowing even painkillers wouldn't completely wipe that frown off of his face.

He shook his head vigorously, _now was not the time to get caught talking to an invisible Go obsessed ghost!_

"Er, I'm okay, mom." he ignored Sai's proposal and sludgingly lept into the chance that she had come to him for something (_anything) _that could lead him away from Sai's melting gaze and his favorite pastime.

"What- what is it you need?" He stuttered out, a bit more harshly than intended. She stared, and he back tracked. "Er, I mean..."

She cocked a swaggering eyebrow at his oddly off putting enthusiasm, quietly wondering if she had inturrupted him from something _embarrassing. After all he _was almost a teenager... but really! _Outdoors?_

_"_Hika-Kun," her voice turned serious as she pushed away thoughts she really didn't want to delve into, and placed a hand on her son's shoulder.

"Grandpa found out about the police report, and about..._your involvement in it." _she sighed.

"Your father was understandably upset, and now Grandpa wants to talk with you."

After a moment of speechlessness, looking exaughsted Hikaru nodded, "M'kay...When is he picking me up?"

His mother ruffled his hair, cutely and shrugged.

"He was shopping when he called, so maybe in a hour so? Cheer up, Hikaru! I'm sure grandpa won't make you do anything too ridiculous with that leg of yours...I mean he's not _that _bad." she joked with a pleasant crinkling smile, teasing at the corners of her quirking mouth.

Hikaru didn't resist pulling back his own smile as he laughed. "You're right. He's not that bad."

She pulled a light jab to his shoulder, "He'll probably only make you play _Go _with him!" she smirked, "An old man's game! Well, endure it- grandpa doesn't have a lot of people to play with."

She pulled back away from his tensed frame.

And then Hikaru springily got up, with an annoyed nod, and made way for the kitchen, positive he could determinedly scrounge up a sandwich or two for his starving adecolent stomach.

Rolling her eyes, his mother walked into the driveway, keys merrily jingling in her hand, and yelled, "I'll be back in a few minutes- I'm just heading to market for some eggs!"

The blonde boy sniffed. "...Fine."

"Don't be _rude_ Hikaru!" the invisible spirit, (to normal people's eyes) chasted the grunting boy lightly, "Say good-bye to your mother!"

Hikaru bit his lip and glanced at the figure standing by the screen, "I think she'd be more suspicious then anything if I started doing that out of nowhere, Sai."

"I'm sure some manners and a sudden love for Go would be more then welcome to Shindo-San."

Hikaru grimaced.

His companion ghost wasn't put out by his aversion to Go.

_Nope, _he was tingling with excitment. _Hikaru would play Go with his grandfather! He still had a chance to teach the boy about his life's (and death's) dedication!_

_Hikaru_ would learn Go!

* * *

By the time he could hold chopsticks and twirl them like a Pro, Sai could throw a decent pitch at his uncle in Go.

Carefully, he allowed himself the pleasure of imaging himself passing on the roots and fruits of his playing, to his first student in _years._

And then like a hug, a warm feeling crossed through his mental link from Hikaru.

Baffled at the sudden mood swing, Sai raised his fan to his nose, and put on an unnecessary poker face.

A _car, _one that wasn't Shindo-San's, rode up into the driveway, crushing crunching gravel as it ate it's way forward and finally halted into a screeching stop.

"How are you?" He watched Hikaru's grandfather, a short round, happy man, stick his head out of the rolling window, like an old friend, and greet his precious host with a small crooked smile as he waved invitingly into his car. "You can ride in the passenger seat, just don't tell your mother!"

Sai encouragingly pushed Hikaru when the boy had made no move (after a few awkward seconds) to greet his grandfather.

"Go on Hikaru, Go!" Sai whispered brightly, hoping the boy wasn't frozen from unexpected pain.

"Ah- Hey _gramps_!" Hikaru's obnoxious tone startled the ghost as he let go of the blonde's tensed shoulder, surprised.

_Hikaru-Kun?_

Blinkly, he watched the boy slink into his grandfather's passanger seat with a grudging frown, kicking up dust and slammed the door shut as his eyes nervously flickered from the old fashioned ghost_ and onto _to his grandfather.

"Mmh!" The old man sighed in content. "I can smell your mother's cooking! The best as always, eh?" he grinned.

Sai reluctantly sat in the back seat, not wanting to admit he was uncomfortable with the automobile's unfamiliar design, and sat perfectly still.

Hikaru on the other hand, although fiddling because of the emotions felt through their link, seemed to be reliably at ease as he agreed with the round faced man.

"Sure, mom's cooking is okay..."

The ghost bit his purple lip.

Hikaru's attitude and maturity had taken a sudden dive for the worse. _What's wrong with you?_

_His _question was met with sizzling silence and an unhappy blonde.

Sensing the annoyance from the blonde banged brat, Shindo-San made an odd face, "Relax Hikaru! You like you've bitten into a lemon!"

The old man chortled happily and whistled as the sour faced boy, grumpily turned away. "Yeah..."

"Ah, Now now...once we get home, I'm sure you'll cheer up over a round of Igo."

"Wha...?" Staring Hikaru could only blink as Sai leaned forward (springing to Hikaru like lightning) and stared at the pale blonde through narrowed eyes.

"_You can play Go?" _He didn't know how to feel about this...revelation.

Without thinking Hikaru squeaked out a nervous,"No!" _And now he lies?_

The old man turned in surprise.

"Nonsense, you'll play with me." his voice deepened, "I know you will since you can't resist a decent game- you _know the man you met in the hospital_? Takeo-San- he told me you said that."

When the timetraveler held still, not daring to respond, Shindo-San smirked, in satisfaction while the ghost only inches away, flinched.

"Get over it Hikaru. You have so _much potential for Go!" _He then lost a bit of his seriousness as he rubbed the bottom of his chin, thinking.

"Now," he grabbed something from his grocery bag (the one laying by his feet), and curiously quirked his head to the side, "Would you like some tomato juice?"

The boy leaning far back into his seat, as if wanting to disappear, weakly nodded.

He needed something to help take down the thickness in his throat. And Sai's frozen spirit (breathing icily on him) wasn't helping much.

* * *

**A/N: Note 1: _This fic is not Beta'd- so all mistakes are mine... And typing on an iPad is not easy. Lol, actually it's weird. :/_**

**Anyway, Woah! Look at the reviews! I ADORE you guys! Thank you so much for R&Ring- and hope you continue to like my story. Seriously...Just...wow! (Here's a bag of blown kisses (from Sai, lol) to you!) Xoxo!**


	14. An Idiot is an Idiot, man!

**A/N:**

**I don't own Hikaru No Go, Yumi ****Hotta does.**

**Summary:** "Shindo-San..." His friend of eight years started off uncomfortably, "You're...gay?" Akira glared accusingly at the magazine in Hikaru's hands. "What? No! No! It's not what you think!" Second chance, A.U. Timetravel, and a young Hikaru with a big girlish problem.

Enjoy.

* * *

"I can't see...! Now where are my glasses?" A garbled mumble sounded off in the backround, bothering him senseless, "Oh!" _Now an excited exclamation... _Hikaru thought to himself, tiredly as his grandfather fumbled clumsily from the corner of his irritated eye, "It's on my head! Ha-ha!"

He heaved a heavy sigh.

Shindo Hikaru was sure the tiny parlour, squished in the furthest area of the house- was the hottest room in existence. Sadly, even with a huge fan, stuck three feet away rattling loudly behind him like a minature motor, his oversized shirt continued to stick grossly to his back like a second skin.

And then, there was the problem of his red ear itching like crazy. Grunting, he passively touched the burning skin, in a sweeping motion. Biting his lip he tugged at his shirt, letting the warm air circulate around his skin.

Frowning, he wondered how his grandfather didn't _feel the_ heat, and melt like him.

"Don't scare yourself. You'll like playing Hikaru." the older Shindo spoke, effectively making the blonde tense, "Once you get back into motion you'll never want to stop."

_That's what I fear. _"Right..." he fought a disheartening face-palm with a twitching half smile.

How could his grandfather _sense the _hunger, and the seizing fear he felt to play the game?

How could he even talk to Sai...about _anything _related to Go? Go made up the larger part of his life. It had molded him into the person he was today. Determined to fight, and terrified of rejection.

Mentally he was staggering, what the heck was he going to do? Play a good game? Bull shit his way through this?

_I don't know._

Hikaru excepted another steaming cup of bitter, green chai tea, with an awkward looking, one motioned side-nod and blew loudly on the rippling beverage, aggressively._  
_

The moment he'd awakened Sai from his slumber, he had made a promise with himself to never play Go again.

Frowning, he sat cross legged on the coarse tatami mat threading impressively over the cool, hardwood floor, in blistering silence.

_I can't just eat my words. Right?_

"...I'll find the peices. If I remember correctly they were last in my trophy drawer..." The old man's voice trailed off as he stared at his grandson, thoughtfully as his eyeglasses slipped down the bridge of his crooked nose.

His nerves prickled nervously when his old man smiled kindly, causing his train of dangerously ridiculous thoughts to veer of path and tumble clumsily into his clenching stomach.

A clear board stood out brightly in front of him, like a plain sheet, waiting to be used-dulling his perverse excitement to play _Go again._

Pressing his sweaty palms mid-thigh, the boy bitterly swallowed the last of his pride, and casually turned his head to sneak a fleeting glance at Sai, who was sitting a few feet away, posed in a form that suggested he was calm.

This did nothing to soothe his nerves.

_I feel like an idiot._

"Hey," a hand squeezed his shoulder, causing him to jerk up in surprise.

He flinched, "What?" he glared, embarassed to have been staring at his invisible companion. The one staring at him curiously, and almost amused in an odd sort of sense.

"Relax, I found the stones." he assured him as the sharp clinking of stones filled the two wooden bowls before them, pleasantly.

"..." he shifted, suddenly ten-fold more uncomfortable then before. _I hadn't even realized he'd left the room!_

"You're...stubborn you know that?"

"No, just stupid." he mumbled.

"Like your father?"

A small smile of toleration spread thinly across on his lips. Nodding casually, he agreed, "True to that."

The old round man shook his head, disappointed in the reaction of the young boy.

"Hikaru, I won't _force _you to participate if you're unwilling. I just..." he sighed, "I just thought that since...since you hurt your leg in the accident, then well," his worn smile faded, "You could have a chance to do something you like. Make something of yourself, maybe."

His words were worthy of an applause from a future Touya.

Hikaru raised his brows in surprise. "M-make something of myself?"

"Yes."

"But I'm not even that _good._"

The old man blanched. "Not good?" his voice hitched up a decimal in disbelief as his mouth thinned into a firm line, "Well, you don't have to join professionally, you can just dabble in it. Have fun...and then maybe join when you're older."

Hikaru's brows knotted together in confusion, complentating his words.

"I'm not sure." he answered at last, slumping in his posture, seemingly defeated as the older man ignored the colored edges of agitation in his tone.

"You don't have to make up your mind right away." Shindo-San replied quickly, "Just play a game with me. Come on," he coaxed gently, "One game."

Hikaru's green eyes flickered to the corner of the room, and then at the worried grey eyes of his grandpa.

"Fine." he agreed, solid in his choice to face the music. Or in this situation, the pale, beautiful ghost who refused to talk to him_**.**_

_It would have been easier if I had just jumped into a frying pan, damn it._

* * *

"Ah, the playing style. What an odd way to go about on an attack..."

The spirit's gaze slimmed from behind his antique fan, quiet.

The sound of once perfectly round stones, now chipped and sharp, chittered brightly against the dark, oak board much to the Hein era'd ghost's pleasure.

He wanted, so very much to _touch _again. To proudly pat Hikaru's head, and to move a stone _himself_.

"I resign. Thank you very much for the game." the round man bowed curtiesly.

Sai wasn't sure when he had wondered back to Hikaru's side, but now, sitting stunned by his host's side, he honestly didn't regret the action.

"Thank you very much for the game." Hikaru copied the sharp faced man's gesture blankly, still feeling slightly limp from the pleasant game. Sai smiled a secretively taunting smile, pleased at the efficiency that his _soon to be student _could play with, under stressing conditions.

In less then a short hour, the game set before him had flourished, turning into something simplistically integrating for his brittled senses.

The round of black, spiky hands dotting the board, intertwined sweetly through the white, surrendering peices, stabilizing steadily into broader territory.

Once the match ended, Sai had found himself thinking he had been entertained quite sufficiently through the entire match. _Hikaru lied. He knows how to play a nice game. _He blinked slowly.

And now, for some reason, he couldn't find it in himself to be truly _angry _with the small boy for keeping a secret. Even if he did have a bit of a _lying_ problem...about having potential and what not.

The ghost watched through wine colored eyes, Shindo-San glance excitedly from behind his glinting glasses.

And then, right there and then, he knew they both had the same idea.

_Pulling Shindo into the Go world was a necessity. And he'd be sneaky about it if he had to._

"Alright Hikaru," Shindo-San slowly got up, abandoning the board, "Let me take you home...-don't touch that!" The man bristled, "I'll clean up the game."

Hikaru stared.

"...Okay...?"

"Right," the round man swallowed thickly, "Let's go!" He shouted animatedly, as if ready for an exciting adventure with a Japanese Dora The Explorer.

Sai peeked at Hikaru's disturbed expression, thoughtfully. "_Hikaru!" _he called out, immediately snapping the boy's aghast attention to him.

"Don't make your grandfather wait."

The boy breathed shakily, and then smiled a weak, relieved smile. The corner of his lips tugged up sharply, spreading into a handsome, shapely grin.

And for a moment, they knew, they were both relatively happy.

* * *

**A/N**: That's it! My new favorite _J Indie Rock band, is Asian Kung-Fu Generation! I like anything by them. Awesome stuff to listen to when writing. _Yup, anyway- thank you for Reading! I love you guys! 60 something reviews? Holy Voldy! ;D I need to steal some of Hikaru's kisses...and mail them to you VIA chopper. Lol So yeah... Early update...because I'm happy? :D


	15. Japan Likes Foreigners

**A/N:**

**I don't own Hikaru No Go, Yumi ****Hotta does.**

**Summary:** "Shindo-San..." His friend of eight years started off uncomfortably, "You're...gay?" Akira glared accusingly at the magazine in Hikaru's hands. "What? No! No! It's not what you think!" Second chance, A.U. _Timetravel_, and a young Hikaru with a big girlish problem.

Enjoy.

* * *

It wasn't that he'd become a killjoy for anything youthful and fun on Saturdays. _No_, that'd just be utter (complete _crap_) nonsense! But, there was no avoiding that the fact of the matter, was that he'd had most of his bad experiences on those cursed days- right before his school break, on Sunday.

Freezing, he realized blithely, that his lovely, future self had gone and gotten his ass dumped by his cheating girlfriend while bummed around on a January morning- something that greatly contrasted against the warm eight O' clock morning of _this _certain Saturday, in a fucking coffee shop.

Well, with the pain still hauntingly fresh- even through the relapse in time, he knew he had to _completely_ get over her and his stupid pet peeve for dumb, fancy, café's that served incredibly super expensive coffee in itty bitty cups.

So, with nothing in mind other than lounging on the couch like a fat potato, sifting through the channels and staring blankly on the Food Network, he'd almost immediately agreed to meet up with freaking Isumi (the crazy highschooler teen, who declared himself a suitable tutor for the strangely flamboyant Hikaru) to have an extreme learning experience outside of the safety of his dining room floor, and at the corner café.

His mother approved of Isumi's unorthodox methods, since they _did get the job done._

Sighing, and practically blinded to death by the early, white sunlight as he sat next to the biggest window in the café, that sported the most interesting scenery of school girl bending down to pick up her keys, Hikaru grindingly wondered why in the _seven hells_ had his tutor chosen a shop meant for yuppies and their sweet, _barking _dogs, who growled like furry monsters, and pissed nonchalantly on fire hydrants while being tied up to fully equipped _bike rails_.

Across him, fidgeting in the cream coloured, leather boothe, Sai pulled at his ridiculously long hair, worried sick that Hikaru was going unnecessarily out of his way, to go and accidently get himself killed.

Unlike his mother who embraced weird things, Sai dissaproved of studying like an insomniac into the night with a medieval candle for light as he pretended to be an awesome superhero who needed to learn about Algebra at an accelerated rate before all of his P.O.T manga's were _burned_ (crudely) and buried in the garden outside, under the roses.

Oh, and getting accidently killed would definetly bring a new round of floundering problems for the ghost who'd layed dormant inside an antique Go board for decades.

So there he was, at eight-forty in the morning waiting for an old friend who thought of him more as a brat than an equal individual with goals to be normal and socially acceptable.

In his last life...he had done what he wanted, and not what was best.

"Ugh!" his sudden, unplanned outburst startled the complentative spirit mumbling unreassuring things under his breath as he furiously ground his teeth together.

Pulled out of his frustration by a blinking Sai, Hikaru scrambled for a proper explanation, and whispered indiscreetly, "He said he'd be here twenty minutes ago."

Before he could say anything more, a young waitress, probably a Uni student paying off her student loans, rushed forward with hot coffee cupped in her soft hands.

"I'm sorry for taking so long." she smiled a shy smile, "For you and-?"

For a second Hikaru thought she was talking about Sai until he followed her gaze to a windswept looking, _late as hell, sheepish _Isumi standing by his side.

"You." he glowered, "Are late."

The dark haired teen happily cuffed the back of his head in a brotherly gesture.

It fell flat to Hikaru's uptight standards.

The waitress blinked and then set the steaming beverages down on the table before speaking tentatively through her lack of confidence, "You have an adorable little brother." her words came out fast as Isumi responded with a slow, charming smile. He recognized opportunity when he saw it.

"Thank you." the teen fought back a frightening grin.

"I'm not his brother." Hikaru piped up, annoyed that his tutor was being unbashedly hit on in front of him by a curvy, easy on the eyes, _waitress_.

_What the heck_? Was the world scheming to viciously rub the fact that he probably wouldn't ever get laid again?

He was twelve again and still bitter about an Ex. whom he hadn't yet met in this lifetime. Okay...so he had issues. No biggie. Right?

_Shit, _He certainly hoped that by the time he was thirty, he'd at least have a partner.

_Inappropriate thoughts. _

_No need to get going in that direction._

Sai, unwillingly hearing his rushing louder thoughts, dominated by fearsome hormones, stared abashed in mixed horror.

Isumi's smoothe smile tightened, "Oh, He's _shy _around strangers!" the teen's nimble fingers deviously squeezed his chubby cheeks tightly. "Hikaru-Kun! Be nice to young, pretty, ladies!" he felt his pained cheek being sharply pulled around into three different directions.

He tried to growl but instead of sounding threatning, it came out as shocked sputtering.

"H-hey!"

The waitress clutching a small, white notepad to her chest, swooned like a character from one of those Erotica romance novels that his mother secretly read at night, in the safety of her bedroom while his father worked abroad on business.

Ew.

_Come on! New train of thought_.

He rolled his eyes, realizing that maybe he could score some brownie points by acting cute and maybe get _hugged. Girls like hugging. _Being short certainly had its perks at times.

Boobs are awesome. Every guy knew that. _Even the ones who had a secret hobby of reading light BL mangas._

And it really was all _nice and dandy_ until the old ladies came over to pat his hair and affectionately pinch his cheeks at his mother's self thrown parties, because he reminded them of a panda with blonde bangs when wearing jeans and a black striped shirt- _then things would get strained_.

Sai abruptly opened his gapping mouth to give a lecture on how young men should have discipline, but was cut off by an eagerly scheming Hikaru.

"I'm sorry...I just...thought," he looked up at her sweetly, "Brother _is right. _You're very pretty." his bright green eyes widened childishly- spurring out cute pheromones. (?)

She scratched her head awkwardly and turned to glance at a slack faced Isumi.

He knew the teen was drawing his conclusions about how un-innicent he really was, while the ghost in front of him turned to look out a window, skeptical about how this would really end out to be okay.

"Ah," she smiled, "Thanks kid!" she gave him a quick pat on the head before abruptly turning around to face a still shell shocked young adult.

"I'm sorry! I have to get back to work or I'll be beheaded by the manager..."

The tutor gave her a casual wave. "S' okay. See you soon?" he looked up at her curiously.

She gave him a steady look, "...maybe." and then smiled as she scurried away from a suddenly excited Isumi.

He watched the teen struggle to pull back a punch of victory and not squeal a slutty cheerleader.

Yeah, his crush who'd visited his school to pick up her little sister worked at this place.

_No wonder he wanted to meet up here. It was to ogle that woman! _He realized in an awed mental voice.

"You're a sly guy, huh."

_Sai_ smiled in an understanding fashion to the boy brimming with happiness as he pulled his trademark fan over his nose in an attempt to cover up his sly intentions.

Hikaru lazily swept a finger over the tabletop, ignoring the coffe and the late individual with a frown.

"Oh!" finally pulling himself out of his daze, Isumi cleared his thoat awkwardly, "Uhm, I almost forgot!" Sitting down, blissfully unaware of a fancily dressed, dead man staring at him by his side, he pulled out a leather bookbag and map.

"So today is a very touristy day for foreigners in Japan." he started off professionally, "And since," he squeezed the bridge of his nose thoughtfully, "I'm going to be quite frank with you..."

Hikaru nodded at his coffee cup knowing it wouldn't do the tango for him just because his willed it to.

"You suck at English, and your accent is terrible..." he trailed off as Hikaru stared at him in mild disbelief.

"You," his face twisted into a confused expression, "You of all people are telling me I have a bad accent?" his lips moved and a squeak came out, "you've got to be joking- you're the king of terrible accents!"

Isumi looked past him stoically and brushed nonexistant dust from his shoulder.

"That's irrelevant." he replied and then forcefully pushed the map towards him, "Today's lesson is to act friendly. And if anyone who looks blonde or whatever asks for directions, you answer them in English. Now," he smiled, "Scatter."

Hikaru stared.

"Um, how about _no_."

Unluckily for Hikaru, it seemed Isumi was actually prepared for a backfire.

He casually held out his cell phone with a taunting smirk. "Shindo-San locked the doors to your home and won't allow you back in until I call her and give the 'Okay.'"

_Evil mind fucking, son of a bitch!_

"Now," his dark eyes gleamed with mischeif, "Scatter young grasshopper! Scatter off into the field of foreigners with terrible Japanese language skills!"

It wouldn't have sucked so much if getting up in a suddenly too quiet café caused unwanted, negative attention.

"I'll be going now." Hikaru growled unconvincingly as he held the yellow map out, upside down.

_I had no idea Isumi could be such a heartless jerk._

"Good luck my dearest student!'

"...Shuddup." he whined and then trecked out of the teen's sight.

* * *

"So you're telling me your grandson did this?" the man speaking slowly slid out a pack of minty, chick cigarettes and rolled the white, unlit cancer stick into his wettened mouth.

"Yes." Old man Shindo-San replied slowly, as if talking to a dumb person as the man slumped in the bench before him ignored the rude gesture. "We played this game a few days ago."

"Hmm." the younger man, sporting a pair of thick glasses shrugged, "If you're telling the truth, then your idea of pushing your grandson into the Go world is a _grand _idea." he pulled his hands from his lap and onto the picnic table as he enjoyed the local park's scenery, "How old is he?" he started casually, fishing for more information, "Twenty-five? Thirty?"

Heiachi leaned forward as the Go pro's ears perked. He smelled an interesting story here.

"No, no..." he muttered and then casually threw in a disarming, "My grandson's twelve."

There was a beat of silence.

And then the glasses wearing three-Dan choked.

"WHAT?!"

Shindo watched the younger man's eyes widen into comic disbelief from behind the bright glare of his glasses.

"I'm proud he's found a talent with Go." his gaze turned distant. "If only he _liked it. _I'm pretty sure he still thinks its a game that only old men play."

"B-but," the man before him stuttered, "You have to at least _like _Go to get decent at it!" he cried out, bewildered at the sudden flush of startling news.

Shindo turned wary, "Not Hikaru-Kun," his short, grey hair whisked around his wrinkled face as a warm breeze brushed past them, "I practically had to threaten to no longer give him any more allowance so he could play one measly game with his grandpa."

"W-well," the Go pro pulled himself out of his shock with surprising speed, "Either way I'll be bringing this game to my teacher's study session."

Shindo-San blinked in surprise.

"Really? You think the _Meijin _would like to see this?"

"Maybe?" he pulled a lighter from his pocket and sparked a light on the end of his burning Virginia Slims."I'm sure," he breathed in, "He'll take the time to glance at it- I mean," he puffed happily, "He does have a son around your grandson's age."

Heichi heard enough and coughed up avwad of money from his pockets. "Here."

"Thank you." the man said truthfully, "And I hope to see your grandson in the field of Go someday."

"Hm."

He shoved the money into his pocket. "Maybe he'll learn to love it by then." he offered a teasing suggestion for the future.

Shindo Heichi smiled sadly and then stood up from the picnic bench. "Go buy yourself some cigars with that money."

The man heaving a Pro title above his head laughed. "Nah, I like the light flavor of the Slims."

* * *

"I looked like a jack ass." he muttered to himself. "I can't believe she started to cry! What did I even say to pull out a reaction like that?" he wanted to collapse, for he was dead on his feet.

Apparently trying to be helpful backfired on nice people.

"Mom! Open the door!" when there was no reaction he panicked, "_Please?__"_

_I really have to go to the bathroom!_

He heard rustling from behind the door. "Your tutor called to say he cancelled for tomorrow's session." the door clicked open to reveal a bright-eyed woman holding a glass of lime juice in her hand.

She paused to take in his scruffy appearance, "Come on, go take a shower- you look filthy!"

"I feel that way too." he aknowledged with a nod as he stiffly rolled his shoulders.

"Dinner should be ready soon...maybe ten minutes? I decided to try out a new curry." she frowned thoughtfully, "Hopefully it'll be good, hmm?"

The blonde yawned and shrugged off his shirt as Sai trailed behind, "It'll taste great mom. I can smell it from here." his stomach clenched. He'd eaten _nothing_ all day.

She smiled kindly, "Okay mister, get a move on and keep on marching up those stairs to the bathroom."

Sai shifted into his side vision and gave a small wave.

"Yeah, yeah." he bit his lip. "I'll be down in ten."

With a mumble of something having to do with food, his mother walked away from the foot of the stairs, leaving him alone.

He decided he'd had a long day.

* * *

**A/N: Hey! So I didn't abandon you guys! I was writing snippets for future chapters the entire time I had been whisked away into the land of no internet at my summer place in the country. _Thank you so much for the favorites and alerts! _Though I hope to see a nice detailed and inspiring review soon! After all I wrote this chapter up all in one day! (and damn it- schools starting soon **sophomore year for me! **So I hope to write a lot before then.) please R&R!**

**Thanks!**


	16. AntiSocial stupidity

**A/N:**

**I** don't** own Hikaru No Go, Yumi ****Hotta does.**

**Summary:** "Shindo-San..." His friend of eight years started off uncomfortably, "You're...gay?" Akira glared accusingly at the magazine in Hikaru's hands. "What? No! No! It's not what you think!" Second chance, A.U. _Timetravel_, and a young Hikaru with a big girlish problem.

Enjoy.

* * *

He was used to the antisocial wreck his son naturally was because... it was normal. It had been that way since the beginning of introducing the boy to school.

It was how he noticed the boy managed through life, by being overly polite and having no friends. That was how he'd make his way through the shallow thoughts of his piers and come out on to the top of his realistic goals.

His wife, a small woman, constantly slapped him back and forth for getting their son into a passion most kids around wouldn't appreciate or find common ground on.

Now...Lots of small, vague hints told him whether he was a good father or not a he wearily watched his -paler than usual- son fall asleep into his breakfast.

"Like a ragdoll..." Akiko, his precious wife, drawled sadly at his side- as if saying it was all his fault that their only child was like...this.

And all hints were currently flashing his cards to guilty as the woman shifting at his side, threw him a fast glare from over her prickling strides to her half-dead son.

Akira, with elbows propped loosely on the cold kitchen counter, slumped heavily over the frozen Kifu lying flatly in front of him.

The bowl of rice (that may as well have been attacked by starving birds pecking precisely at it's target) looked surprisingly clean, for the boy hadn't left even a speck behind to poke at.

_Has he been getting any sleep? _He wondered after a quick look over at the boy.

"Something worth studying?" He spoke roughly in his deep, rumbling tenor as his speedy wife collected the lone dish from under the sickly looking boy.

The pale boy's ears barely perked at the sudden question, slinging him roughly out of his thoughts he pushed himself up a bit. "Hmm?" A glance at the intimidating figure of his father was enough to cause the boy reeling in his seat. "F-father? Oh," he stuttered as if shocked his father wanted to speak to him when he had important work to do in the morning.

"I- uh yes, _this _is worth studying." he finished weakly.

Touya-San raised a heavy, grey eye-brow in what could be interpreted as mild disbelief.

"Er,.." Akira flushed under the gaze in embarrassment. "A boy my age," he paused and curled back into his seat, "He beat me in a game of Go. An even game." he looked troubled as he stared at the older Touya, worried.

"I can't find him." he continued distantly, "It's a if he disappeared off of the face of Earth!" his hand curled into a frustrated fist as sweat tickled down his left eyebrow.

Akiko, the mother of young Akira, worked furiously on the dishes in the sink while brushing her fingers quickly through her hair during a quick thought of wondering who'd beaten her son at his favorite game.

With bare feet warming the ground, the older Touya moved forward to stand ominously over his son's shoulder like silent bear.

_Is that so?_

The pushing of his wife from behind had him speaking before he could even think about what he was going to say.

"I..." he watched the interest from his son's eyes spark as he spoke, "Just the other day a student of mine came in saying something about a game played from a young boy." he allowed himself a small smile, "I think I'll look into it."

Akira stared with an open mouth at the tall man and then swallowed rather thickly before letting out a nervous type of twittering sound. The meek boy's face and unruly blonde-ish hair flashed clearly though his mind.

"I- Thank you, father."

The Meijin simply nodded his acknowledgment. "You may have found a worthy opponent to help you grow."

The red cheeks and adoring gaze told a whole world of stories about his pleasure in the bright news as Touya Meijin stepped away to appreciate his handy work.

Yes indeed, he felt good inside.

* * *

The fan spinning above his head rattled on its disk.

After a few days of constant silver tongued hints from his increadably persistent grandfather, he'd started to loose some _serious _sleep.

The old man wasn't stupid.

He knew how to push buttons until a person finally gave in to what he wanted. And now because of this certain trait, he was loosing _hours_ of sleep over the guilt pitting around in his stomach.

The results were starting to show in his face.

He'd lost him once and didn't want to loose him again to something so _trivial_ (to most people) as a game! Just thinking about it and it's very realistic possibilities opened up the stabbing ache from before.

The situation at hand should have been simple! Just _say yes. Take your chances. _A part of him cunningly whispered into his ear- where weakness felt closer than before.

_Do it!_

He was afraid of rejection, the lonely feeling that he could never forget.

Now, in this time he was never truly isolated from companionship. Even in an empty room while left alone to himself, the invisible presence of a spirit from another dimensional plane haunted him.

His every waking moment was filled with Sai.

Sai, the gentle creature who was always listening to what he had to say crawled at his shadows, and that was well appreciated to the one who had suffered as a withdrawn person for so long.

But lately, his pressuring stare, willing him to take up his long lost passion, was increasingly sucking the warmth out of him and chilling him to the bone.

_Why won't you let it go?_

Instead of voicing his question, Hikaru looked away from the ever so picture perfect gentelman, to stare blankly at his cold, sweaty hands.

His grandfather and Sai had plans for him and it seemed it was a going to be a one way route without any choices.

_I don't want to have no other options. I want space to have a back up plan- something else I could do if I screw up._

And in all honesty, even though a huge part of him craved to play Go competitively again, he didn't want to drop his current style just to hide from Sai like a coward!

_Sai _would recognize his playing as his own. Or at least how heavily influenced his game was by the strikingly similar style in play.

Gripping a can of juice he blinked away his frazzled thoughts and breathed a small sigh of discomfort.

He heard the old fan above give a weeping, heavy groan.

His companion, the ghostly man sitting dazzlingly in the corner of the room turned to smile tentatively at him, worried he'd break or something. He knew Sai could feel his emotions straining with doubt and fear.

He could see it in his eyes.

He knew it would normally be considered weird to start having such frustrated emotions out of nowhere and that Sai was most probably concerned for him.

"What do I do?" he grumbled darkly to himself, now firmly set on brooding.

"Eh? Do what?"

The hair on his neck rose as he licked his lips nervously.

"...Er," the typical, feminine voice of a Japanese schoolgirl had startled him.

He'd forgotten she was there!

"...Nothing." he finished unconvincingly as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and looked longingly at the window at the far side of the room.

_A fire escape route... That's kind of cool. I wander if Akari even goes out on it?_

He allowed his gaze, for a moment, to slip and see her unhappy face darken.

Story was that his mother hated it when he did nothing on the weekend.

Shindo-San, with quick lashing authority, had made it a point to make a big deal out of Hikaru spending way to much time lazing in the house (though he couldn't do much about that with a broken leg).

So here he was.

Sprawled hazardously on the livingroom floor of Fujisaki's apartment, the main character of this humble story, a small boy with a long winding memory of the future (and how horribly uninviting it was); stared back embarassedly at his childhood friend as she poked fun at him.

"Stupid Hikaru." she finally sighed, believing that yes, he really was an idiot.

"...yeah, yeah." he waved his distantly wove his hand and thoughtflly bit the inside of his cheek.

Glancing at the wide window again, Hikaru was surprised to see Sai had moved from his spot in the corner in favor of moving to sit under the pool of warm, afternoon light.

With his face open and un-creased with worry, he looked young and almost alive again as the sun warmed his thin presence into the heated room.

He watched him light up with happiness.

Hikaru smiled warmly. Sai could be such a kid.

"You have a cat?" he asked Akari as he watched an obese, grey adult cat take in his friend's form as it happily pawed it's way to Sai.

"Mmh," she laughed a silent laugh, "yeah that's Chiro-Chan." she finally answered with a flick of page from under the book she was reading, and then stated in a matter-of-fact voice, "He's the best kitty on Earth."

Sai reached out to pet the cat as it circled cautiously around him before drawing back as the feline quickly bristled in anger. _Get out of my spot! _It seemed to say with a low meow rumbling from deep in its throat.

Woah.

_If _anything, it was awkwardly cute to have a pretty boy flinch from a cat's dissaproval.

_He'd_ just been out of the glaring light of humanity for years, _alone, _in a tiny wooden box stashed away in some stranger's shed, uniformed of the changes since Tojiro's time. Hikaru supposed that any living thing that could see you that didn't even tolerate your existance was a blow to the heart.

_It must have been lonely to be separated from life, and left with only the distant thoughts of his childhood and Tojiro for company_.

His neutral mood plummeted into his stomach like churning ice as his hands tightened into a fist around his own book.

He also felt a moderate burning in his chest.

Something deep inside him (the irrational, darkened part of him) didn't like that the _imposter of a Go Saint _had gotten close to Sai _before_ him.

_I'm being stupid!_

Now, while watching the ghost sulk in a quiet place ten feet away from him, he felt..._depressed_.

"Okay..." the girl, Akari flicked her cheek thoughtfully, "Off the top of my head, I'd say you should _never _underestimate the power of good gossip." he heard her mumble from under what he suddenly recognized as her father's favorite, horribly seventies, Sci-Fi, romance novel. The front cover sported several harsh tears on it's glossy indigo sheen page as she squeezed the thing with an iron grip.

When he didnt reply she fiddled with her thumbs anxiously.

Finally she spoke.

"Stop it." she muttered from under her twisting, dark hair.

Hikaru puffed a cheek out.

"Stop what?" he gave her a strange look.

"Hikaru," she started calmly, "You're staring out into space..." she paused, "No...actually you're _glaring out__ into space _and it's bothering me." she flipped a yellowed, dog-eared page unsurely before adding tentatively, "It's not normal. You okay?"

He blinked and then continued to look blankly at his childhood friend in dawning amazed horror.

"Wha? I'm...I am not glaring into space! And I'm fine, thanks." he responded unkindly to her.

She peeked up from under her novel to stare at him in barely concealed amusement as he haughtily worked his dark sleeves up to his elbows.

He still couldn't believe his mother had forced him to hang out with Akari...because she thought he'd become a lazy, crippled person?

What was she thinking? _Throwing him into the lion's_ den?

Why with her?

He spared her a glance and was startled by the change in her expression.

"Hey," she knocked his side harshly as she pushed the book away to sit by his side in tensed silence.

He flinched when her icy cold hands touched his shoulders.

"Chill."

"...Akari." Hikaru wordlessly demanded an explanation as she chewed on her bottom lip.

"I-," she looked troubled, "This is going to be a bit personal! But um, when you were hit with the car...how was it like?" she suddenly stuttered, "I-I mean I know it's not any of my business- but something must have happened." she babbled on nervously in a pitched voice while he stared at her in disbelief.

_What?_

_"I've been wanting to know for ages!" _she explained hurriedly.

Confused by the painful swell of emotion lumping up in his throat, he gritted his teeth together to fight back a biting answer.

What the hell was wrong with him today?

Instead his voice came out strained as he gritted out an forced, "...Yeah, so?"

Her harsh, stony face jolted him into realizing she was being _serious._

_What does she want from me?_

Cocking a brow at her he then asked in a smoother voice, "Why do you think so?" the gravel in his pitchy voice dissapeared with her gripping fingers, almost bruising him.

He _really, really didn't _want to talk. Not about that. And now that he thought about it, he'd never really told Sai how he'd broken his leg. It would make his already stressed situation even more awkward than before.

"You changed." she breathed out, sounding almost surprised herself.

Her words shook him.

Was he that _obvious? _Making an ass out of himself apparently didn't help him keep his appearance much.

After a moment, the blonde tween raised his heavy complentative stare to meet his childhood friend's pitying stare.

"Okay." he finally said through tight lips. "Yeah, I have changed but that was though my own will." he sighed tiredly, "Everyone changes Akari. Everyone. Just give them enough time and they will."

It was quiet for a few long moments.

"Yeah," she smiled even as her eyes watered, "_You _as a whole individual have changed and I don't know if I like it." _  
_

His weakness was tears.

"Er," _I'll let it go._

"I get it, I get it! I'm an immature boy, while you, (he realized somewhere along the line that fighting with women was usually useless), "Have your own opinion. I'm me and that's all that matters, right?" his words sounded desperate and unconvincing even to his own ears.

"Right." he watched her deflate.

His nerves tingled in the aftershock of his relief while he quietly simmered in unreasonable anger.

"Meow, meow?"

"Chiro-Chan!" Akari exclaimed after his jump of surprise and laughed.

_...Oh, it's the cat again._

"Hikaru stop trying to sneak away." he heard her tease him as he hid his face behind his hands.

"He's a good kitty. Come on, why don't you pet him?" she asked in persuasive tones, hoping for him to maybe inch a hint closer to the obese tuft of fur.

"Why am I here anyway?" he asked casually as he sniffed indignantly. No one had really _explained it to him.__  
_

"My father," she paused as they both heard a door slam into its rattling frame, "Earlier he was talking about how much he wanted to talk to you again."

Heavy footsteps echoed in the hall.

"..."

"It's not shocking though since you almost never stop by." she accused halfheartedly.

Well, speak of the devil and he shall come._  
_

"Akari-Chan?" they both heard him call out worriedly from the kitchen.

"Mrrrrow!" the fat cat who'd dissapeared earlier ran to the approaching footsteps enthusiastically.

Juat as the cat reached the doorway, a small man walked into the room with a leather suitcase in hand.

Hikaru winced.

_He looked _worse than himself.

"Hello, Akari-Chan...and Shindo-Kun? the balding man dressed in a grey business suit greeted evenly as his smile quickly rolled off of his face, "It's nice to see you again young man." Fujisaki-San said with a gentle pat reaching for his head.

He wanted to get out.

"Ah, Hello Fujisaki-San." he responded back politely while completely ignoring the reflex reaction to lean away from the invasion of his space.

_Just tolerate it._

_"You're_ home earlier than usual, dad." the red headed girl chirped from his side on the living room floor.

"...Ah." the worn out man aknowledged before turning to Hikaru with open hands. "Yes well, Your mother asked a favor from me."

"Favor?" he echoed dully.

The ignored cat licking it's scrawny tail peeked up suspiciously to glare mid-lick at the blonde.

"Mhh,"the man sounded thoughtful as he moved to sit on the couch. "She called me yesterday and mentioned that you seemed a little lonely and that maybe you needed a hobby." he added with wavering tones, "We chatted, and Shindo-San thought I could help you with that." he didn't sound like he believed himself and this had Hikaru suspicious.

He couldn't believe it!

"What?"

"Daddy..." Akari trailed off as a moment of realization hit her. "Hobby as in _your_ hobby?" her face paled at the smoothe, happy expression filling his face.

Her father was good at what he did and if Hikau joined he wouldn't be allowed to quit.

"Yes," he brushed the stray cat fur off of his jacket and started calmly, "His mother and I agreed it would do him some good to learn piano."

"Piano?"

_What what what?!_

"Piano as in with the little black and white keys? As in music?" he finally choked out weakly.

"Yes, and don't be to worried about it. I'm surprised actually, that a young man like you hadn't already taken up an instrument." his brows raised up as if to show his point.

He was supposed to be twelve! Twelve year olds didn't play music!- That was left for the the talented children who started at the age of four and worked on the instrument for years on end, perfecting techniques... It was life commitment he wasn't ready for!

"Off the couch Chiro..." Fujisaki-San gently chasted to the mangly thing suddenly pawing at his lap.

"Sir, I can't _possibly..."_

"Come on, I might as well show you the basics while we're here." Fujisaki-San interrupted before raising up off of the couch to hold a lone hand out to him, offering help.

The thing shadowing the tired man hissed.

Hikaru, with his head bowed in horror, hardly noticed Sai get up from his spot in the sun to trail quietly behind him with a small frown on his mellow face.

"_Hikaru."_

"Er, thanks sir." He managed to finally croak through shock he was feeling.

Grabbing Akari's fathers hand, he hoisted himself up and avoided the tired man's steady gaze.

Stupid problems. He should have spent his day sleeping or _talking_ to Sai. Maybe even except that Go offer if he could convince himself not screw things up. That way, he could watch the child like ghost shine best in his innocence while leisurely forgetting about favors that didn't really need doing.

Really, how was it he always got himself into hopeless situations?

* * *

**A/N: _Yes. _**_A late chapter...I know. I've been busy with family stuff. _

_And, _yeah so I do play an instrument, but it's not piano. Bleh! So to any pianist readers out there! do not be offended by my terrible discriptions. Lol

Yeah! Yeh! Thank you for R&Ring! You have no idea how much that moved me to write this! :D I love you guys and I hope you keep reading! Thanks again to those anonymous readers too! :D


	17. First Step

**A/N:**

**I don't own Hikaru No Go, Yumi ****Hotta does.**

**Summary:** "Shindo-San..." His friend of eight years started off uncomfortably, "You're...gay?" Akira glared accusingly at the magaz in Hikaru's hands. "What? No! No! It's not what you think!" Second chance, A.U. Timetravel, and a young Hikaru with a big girlish problem.

**Warning: I'm writing this fic on my iPad- so I have no idea if it'll mess up the formatting or something. SO, If it looks weird or to short and sketchy please message me. Thank you.**

And please, enjoy.

* * *

Late afternoon turned into evening, as the thin walls of the small music store, occupying the dingy street corner; left breezy drafts fluttering in through the stringing cracks in the lining of the splintered windows.

A shuddering line of jazz reverberated in his ears, thumping with his racing pulse.

He swallowed back a bitter grimace.

They were in the back, huddled around a classic black Yamaha piano- wiping off the dust with their palms and pulling out packs of sheet music from Mr. Fujisaki's bag.

Something lurched in Hikaru's stomach as he watched his friend's father, a serious business man, hunch over the dark piano and carefully press a few of it's keys with dexterous fingers.

Several heavy finger's pressed on the keys as multiple pitches escaped the vibrating strings' inside.

His gaze flickered back to the man's face, smoothed with a pleasant expression.

There- _there_ it was again.

Fujisaki was looking at him with a small smile, encouraging him to step closer. That pressing look, silently it seemed to be willing him to try the piano out for himself.

He shook his head with firm resolve. _No way, I don't want to touch it._

He couldn't understand why the man would take time out of his day to teach him when he- Hikaru, had no interest in it.

"Nonsense." the crisp word punctuated the silence with ease.

Hikaru backpeddled_. What?_

Fujisaki's hand reached out to him, grabbing him by the sleeve and before he could process it, he realized he had already been ushered non to gently into a worn leather stool. Right beside him.

The devious man.

His eyes slid over the glossy instrument and instead fell to his pale hands.

They were freezing and he refused to aknowledge that the instrument was actually quite intimidating to him.

And like the young boy he was posing to be, his reaction to something unwanted and new made him shy away from future opportunities.

The upright, typical standard piano that stretched to about two arm lengths at his side, was something he'd never really bothered to play around with (except for maybe in his elementry school years when he'd bang on the boy's choir piano for fun with other enthusiastic friends)- or at least he thought so as he shifted in his seat.

"These black keys," a thin arm raised sharply at his side (effectively scaring him out of his miserable cloud of misery) to point almost excitedly at the strips of ebony, "You'll find out later have lots of sharps and flats in them."

The falling sound of the pressed black keys, was decidedly oriental sounding to Hikaru as he listened to it swell back to it's origonal first ring.

The blonde, swallowing thickly didn't even bother to pretend he understood what had been thrown out to him as helpful advice, (like, what the heck was a flat? And what was a crescendo supposed to be?) instead, he chose to avoid eye contact.

Fukisaki, he noticed, smelled like vanilla coffee. How come he couldn't have some?

This place was too cold.

And...Why was he still talking?

"Hikaru?"

Oh.

_Shit, did he say something important? _Internally, Hikaru freaked out.

Reluctantly tapping a few black keys to show he was listening, a low sound rumbled from underneath his hands and immediately brought Fujisaki-San's attention to his hands.

"...Hm, you have natural form in your hands, flat, nicely- ah," he paused to lightly tap Hikaru on the back, "Just don't slump so much in your seat..."

"Oh, okay." Hikaru responded shortly before adjusting his posture into something that resembled a perfect line- pin straight.

His hands curled on the keys as he pressed his mouth into a firm line.

"I think that's a bit much, but good effort." he heard Akari's father mutter from beside him flatly.

Hikaru bit his lip. There was shuffle at his side and something that looked like a packet of papers filled with squiggly lines and top hats, sudden landed precautiously in front of him and onto his lap.

_The packets. Damn._

"This," Fukisaki inhaled with a sense of reminiscing sweetness, "is a music score."

The blissful tone urged Hikaru to hook his eyes onto the papers handed toward him and peer closer at the markings.

He felt dizzy looking at the dotted music filling the page.

Picking the sheets up by his fingertips, Hikaru placed them daintily on the piano in front of him.

The words _Allegro _and _Andante _hovered in barely legible, English cursive script, above the top of the barred ending measures.

His serious, observational stare quickly turned into a confused one-eyed squint.

"What do you see?" Fujisaki asked casually.

The tension broke.

Startled, Hikaru fumbled for words.

"I- sir, this looks a foreign language to me..." he stuttered dazedly to his senior of twenty something years.

Akari's father though, was not dissuaded in the least by his lack of his musical background and instead grew more excited. "Don't worry." he assured confidently, even as his smile faded and hardened into a serious expression. "You'll learn soon enough."

Wisely he added as an afterthought, "At least you should since I'll be working you hard."

At that moment, Shindo Hikaru wished he could be anywhere else- anywhere else and out of that shop.

* * *

At home Sai looked a bit lost.

He surveyed his bedroom precauticiously, looking for something amiss. He felt something strange was going on.

_Something felt like it was missing._

But what was it that had his friend looking so upset? Sai was usually only upset when he couldn't play Go- which was most of the time. Maybe that was it?

_Go, Go, go..._

Suddenly he was devastatingly aware of what it was.

The _Goban_, he realized with a jolt of surprise, was still stashed away in his grandfather's shed, wasting away in the dead of the night.

_How could I have possibly forgotten something like that? _He thought with a sudden sting of embarrassment.

"Shit," the continuation of his would-be sentence was cut off by the sound of his mother calling for him from downstairs.

His current attempts at trying to stay away from Go weren't only stifling himself but Sai as well.

He was selfish.

Picking himself up from his bed, Hikaru strode his way across the room and bounded down the stairs and into the kitchen where his mother greeted him with a soft pat on the head.

"Honey, how was your day?" she asked brightly as she kissed his temple.

"Fine," he replied unhonestly and returned her kiss with an awkward hug.

She leaned back at the sudden unexpected affection and turned to him with a confused half-smile on her lips. She only knew part of what was wrong with her boy.

She guessed he must have been angry with her for pitting him up with his cute friend when all he wanted to do was be a lazy twelve year old. She knew he hadn't wanted music lessons...

She just _didn't_ know why he suddenly felt like he had to leap out of her reach.

He wasn't supposed to be doing that until after college. Until he was all grown up.

"Mom," he started off in an drone, "I want to stay with Grandpa for a week."

Her heart stuttered.

She pushed her unease subtly, "But, Hikaru you were just there...a few days ago."

A few days at her husbands father's house and the boy had come home looking heartbroken.

"I know, but lately he's been trying his hardest to get me to spend more time with him. I want to. Really, I do."

His green eyes peirced her, and she felt as if she were being burned.

Flinching, she decided to pull out the big news.

"But your father's coming home for the weekend. Dont you want to stay and say hello?" she smiled. Hikaru loved his father. There was no way he'd actually say no.

"Mom."

Mrs. Shindo blinked.

"_Hikaru_," she stressed- not believing he'd dare press what he wanted when his father was involved!

She was right.

She gave him one last, long look before her son slunk away to the kitchen table, not dejected, but ruffled all the same.

She stood awkwardly in her spot, thinking hard about what to say to her young and clearly impressionable son.

"I'm going to play Go." he declared loudly from his seat.

Biting her lip to stifle her shock she felt her hands involuntarily slacken at her sides. _Go? Hikaru was interested in Go?!_

Dimly, she noticed how he wasn't even he looking at her with those chiseling eyes, promoting his sudden change in tastes, no.

He was looking over her shoulder.

And for the first time that day, she felt a bitter tang of worry hit her. Hikaru was changing and she could do nothing about it.

"Go huh?" she sighed. "How about you learn how to play the game first." her words were short as she prompted a quick response from the boy.

His firm gaze never wavered.

"I'm confident that I'll do fine, but I'll re-learn it if I have to."

She felt as if she were missing a piece of something.

Something important that she'd never be let in on.

"...Okay." she finally said, as her son cracked an adorable smile.

There he was. There was her _Hikaru._

"I'll drive you tomorrow." and she left it at that until later that night, when she locked herself up in her bedroom, giving her time and space to think about her son.

_Really, what was he thinking?_

* * *

**A/N: I DON'T DESERVE YOU.**

**I'm sooooo SORRY for the late update! Life has been very busy and I've twisted my ankle. Yay. Falling down the stairs is totally a joyride of fun, fun, fun. Yeah...well,-**

**Again thanks to all those people who favorite and alert my stories. It's a nice feeling to know that you like my work.**

**ESPECALLY my beloved REVIEWERS! I love you guys! This chapter was dedicated ****to you! Thanks! :D P.S- You guys are awesome!**


	18. Meeting The little Dragon- Again

**I don't own Hikaru No Go, Yumi ****Hotta does.**

**Summary:** At first he thought he was seeing things. With heavy legs beneath him as his heart fluttered his throat, he stared at the Goban, previously unmarked,- now smeared with stained blood. "Are you alright?" Sai's pale face peered down to meet his own ghastly complexion. He sputtered. A.U! Timetravel, and Future M rating.

Enjoy!

* * *

_"Please...I'm sorry, but I- I love your brother Takuji, not you_!"

A theme song that was semi annoying and mostly catchy, started rolling on in the backround of the two, once lovers.

The latest J drama flashed across the screen of his grandparent's ancient television set, as his grandmother gasped in mixed excitement and horror.

"_Ohohoho_! Kojiri-Kun! I _knew_ she was the wrong woman for you! Look! _Look at_ what she's done now!" _  
_

And as his grandmother declared her suspicions to the unresponsive screen droning out sad pop music, Hikaru stood in the corner of the dark room, biting his lip.

_I hope she doesn't stay up too long..._

Giving one last glance at the woman curled up on the couch, submerged in shadows and pressed against a wall, a very suspicious looking boy darted to the back door-only a mere ten feet away- squatted down and carefully attempted to unlock the bottom lock with a stray hairpin he had found in the bathroom.

"Are you sure your grandfather's asleep, Hikaru?" Sai's low voice flittered into his sensitive ears, causing him to jump in shock.

Goosebumps prickled sinfully at the back of his neck. Sadly, at the moment he was painfully aware of everything in his current state of mind.

His tensed legs were starting to cramp up like a bitch.

"U-Uhm," he swallowed back a rush of adrenaline, the kind that was making his weak knees tremble with anticipation, and instead focused on the brass key hole with all of his might.

"Yes...I'm sure." The words sounded strange coming from his mouth through a strangled whisper.

Even to him it sounded stupid. Actually, it _felt _stupid.

_What's Sai thinking? _

Sai's antique yellow fan breezed past his left cheek and settled to rest on the smoothe jawline of it's disbelieving master.

The ghost gave him a strange look.

"Right." he heard him acknowledge at last through a few thick beats of silence.

Ruffled, Hikaru shrugged uncomfortably.

"I never said this would be an _easy_ task...geez. Have faith in me will you?"

The suave looking ghost laid a gentle hand down to rest on the top of the blonde's messy hair.

"I believe in you Hikaru."

The young boy's heart leapt in his chest, thundering in his ears.

His mom had dropped him off at his grandparent's house later than usual, hoping at the last moment that he'd back out and stay home with him parents.

Of course, for both his sake and Sai's, he hadn't run to his mother with cold feet.

He had seen the ghost's face when he'd persisted his insistence on playing Go. It was...increadably _moving. _With his lips parted in an unguarded smile as his face colored into a surprised rosetea red, he had looked beautiful.

Sai, to Hikaru and surely most people if they could see him, was a unique guy. Anything he did was unnaturally cute, starting from the tilt in his head when curious, to the wicked slant in his eyes when he played detective.

_So cute._

Another strange look was sent his way.

...

Alright, so maybe he liked seeing his fellow girly companion smile more than he should. So what?

_I believe in you Hikaru. ..._God damn, the ghost was torturing him!

A glance in the right direction showed the image of his thoughts clearer than he could have ever imagined. Sai was looking off the other way, slouched almost as he swished through his heavy robes, pacing from side to side, worried.

"Hikaru..." Sai started off shyly as he turned to him- a little pink in the face, "I-,"

The blonde grumbled.

Ugh. So much for belief in him.

Hey it wasn't like he was going to steal his grandma's car and go for a joyride. _He shouldn't be_ that _worried._

_Stupid Sai._

_Wait...what am I doing thinking of Sai? I have to get past this damn __door!_

After desperately wiggling the silver pin a bit more, the lock finally clicked, and he knew he was free to wander about.

The oak door swished open with ease.

Sai immediately stopped his pacing to glance at the blonde again with a little more composure.

Hearing the static television blare behind him, Hikaru worked his way to push open the squeaking screen door.

_...EEK_

He sucked in a nervous breath.

He heard and saw no sign of obvious movement.

Hikaru propped the screen open a little more- and ran (stumbled) as fast as he possibly could on a bad leg.

Hard gravel crunched sweetly under his footsteps as he switched gears from fretting nervously over the thought of getting caught by his grandmother, to freaking out over the thought of getting caught by a cop.

It'd look great. Yeah, Shindo Hikaru lugging a heavy Go board out of an old man's shed and stashing it somewhere behind his parent's house...when suddenly found by a lurking, gun weilding copper because of curfew- red handed...And guilty.

Hikaru sniffed indignantly. He hoped it wouldn't end that way. That'd just be pathetic.

Sighing, he realized he'd spent most of the day avoiding his grandfather's sharp eyes as he read Go magazines, catching up on the latest news and stifling waves within the Go society.

He'd never known that his grandfather had been an amature title holder when he was just Sixteen. Hikaru supposed Go ran through the family from his father's side.

A gust of wind blew past him.

He squeezed his eyes shut and ground his teeth together.

A dark film of indigo had settled over the night sky and the night chill had already sept through the first layer of his flimsy clothing. Tightening his grandfather's loose jacket around him with white knuckles, he stood stiffly in the shed, staring almost mournfully at the worn, black pigmented mark staining the Go board.

He hadn't realized he'd even walked into the shed_._

_Ridiculous. I'm walking around half brain dead!_

A small half smile fluttered across his lips, unsure of what to say to break the ice of the situation.

At his side, Sai looked nervous beside Hikaru, hovering weakly. He looked worser for wear than he'd expected.

"You okay?"

The ghost paused.

"Of course Hikaru-Kun! I'm glad to see my board in such fine shape." His hands were clasped together tightly under his draping, white sleeves and his lips pinched together in a thin line.

He was lying of course.

Probably stuck on past memories. The kind that suffocated you until you couldn't even find the will to breathe as they unpleasantly slid down your spine.

"I'll- erm, try to steal it...and hopefully gramps won't notice." he mumbled. _The old man would never give it to Hikaru willingly. Not when it held at least some sentimental value for him._

"Hikaru!" Sai looked flustered at the thought of stealing as he followed Hikaru's dancing eyes around the tiny, dark room.

His eyes rolled a little.

"It was yours to begin with Sai."

He could see Sai struggling to grasp his point. "...It's late, we can try this in the morning." the ghost reasoned.

"No." Hikaru glanced at the creaking shed door, "It's too late for that! You said you wanted to play right?" he felt disappointed- and Sai must have also felt it for his response was slower than the last.

"Yes." the reply sounded almost shy to his ringing ears.

The silence buzzed with tension.

"Oh, relax will you?"

"A-ah..."

"Hey I won't be found out."

Sai's intracatly designed fan found it's way out of his dark sash to cover the better portion of his face.

Sai looked nervous now in his pale skin. "Hikaru, " he started carefully, "There's something we should talk about."

_Oh. _

A sharp croak burst in his eardrums.

"_You won't be found out about what Hikaru?"_

He squeaked as he whirled around to see a stony faced, old man with a baseball bat.

_Fuck._

"G-grandpa... I can, uhm, explain!"

"You better explain, son."

"Ehehee..."

"Now!"

At that moment he wished he could just fall in a dark hole like Alice from _Alice and __Wonderland_ and never come out. Maybe even a talking rabbit would show up as a distraction.

Tough luck. He knew he was screwed.

Sai seemed to share his sentiments- he had to. Afterall hearing the boy's thoughts and feelings swayed a big chunk of his opinion of the boy.

* * *

A week of chores and Grocery shopping was his punishment.

Apparently when his grandma had gone up to go to the bathroom she'd noticed Hikaru missing and thought someone had gone up and kidnapped him. That led to waking senior Shindo from his sleep.

From there he was left to spurt out nonsense about how he had actually wanted to see a real Goban and that he hadn't really been up to anything suspicious.

Senior Shindo, thankfully, had seemed to soften at the mention of his interest in Go and _didn't _beat the crap out of him.

Nope.

Instead he had stuck him with shopping. _Like a girl_!

"I guess I need bread...Hm." he pondered over the thought of making a sandwich with either Rye or whole wheat as his choice.

Rice was also in lack of supply in the cupboard.

He felt eyes on him.

Sai bent down to his height and opened his prettily painted mouth to point something interesting out to him.

His lips were moving, but he couldn't quite seem to hear him.

_What's he saying?_

"I think that's the boy from the salon Hikaru!"

Everything focused into prickling detail as bright green swept behind his shoulder.

At that moment, Hikaru went through two stages.

One, disblief and the other _more disbelief._

_"What?" _his voice hiked up to an embarrassing pitch.

He hadn't really been concerned about meeting Akira again until the boy literally crashed into him.

"Umph!" the air whooshed out of his lungs as he hit the tiled floor of the local supermarket.

"Sorry, sorry!"

Hikaru looked up to see the tomato red face of his best friend...Er, _once_ best friend/rival.

He looked as if he were going to give himself a mental prep speech or something after dropping his basket on the blonde's injured leg.

"Uh..." he stared at the boy- Akira! sporting a chin length, girly haircut and expensive looking clothes as he met his glare squarely.

There was a beat of silence.

"You!"

"Fuck me..." he pulled himself up, turned around, ready to stride off (still a tad confused) when suddenly a hand caught onto the zipper of his jacket and yanked- hard.

"Hey lemme go!" he panicked, (not at all comfortable with being yanked around) pushed- Akira gasped-

"Wait! Halt!" Akira huffed for breath as his hand reached out, curling at thin air.

Shindo took off into an unsteady jog. His foot stung with _every step_ and his hands were being slowly sliced by the heavy shopping bags he was carrying. It hurt.

_Where's the cash register?_

"Um!" His eyes slid to the boy following him without much problem.

_ I_ _don't remember Touya doing anything like this before!_

_"Please!"_ A note of desperation struck him the back like like a cupid's flimsy arrow.

Finally he burst out, "What is it you _crazy_ lunatic?" his feet were steadily inching around a fruit stand.

"I- I said w-wait."

"...You."

"Aha," Akira (looking younger than usual) laughed nervously, "Yes, it's me. What a surprise it is to see you here!"

"I'm leaving."

Akira flushed.

"Wait. I'm sorry. I just want to talk to you. Please."

A hand firmly grasped his wrist.

Hikaru stopped.

_"Play a game with him Hikaru." _Sai suggested, "I can take this chance to observe your skills."

His hesitation vanished as solid resolve thickened his voice.

"Okay."

The hand didn't let go.

* * *

The pastel yellow paint layered thickly on the walls of the kitchen doorway seemed to be chipping into a dusty pile between the garbage bin and a lonely counter.

"..Yes." an old man sitting at a kitchen table confirmed immodestly to his friend, "He will."

"Give me something to believe?" the friend echoed sarcastically to the man leisurely sipping his wife's tea.

Shindo smirked confidently, "Watch, one day...he'll be one of the best."

"Hah! You've gone senile." the dark-haired man sitting across him smiled a half-friendly smile.

"Not at all! Even young Touya Akira will take notice of my Hikaru!" he argued, a little gruffer this time.

"Crazy." dark eyes slid past him to observe it's owner's fingernails.

"Tch! He'll change the level of Go world wide. I've never in all my years, seen Go as beautiful as that in a child."

Shindo Heihachi was sure of that.

His old friend, a retired English professor, merely shook off his predictions with a wave. He'd met Hikaru before, a few years back.

In most cases, grandparents liked to exaggerate their grandchildren's ability in being special.

Not everyone was meant to stick out of the crowd. Especially not some twelve year old brat.

* * *

**A/N: New summary. You guys like it? **Omg, and as for editing I suck.

_Like really bad. _I'm sorry if you see lousy mistakes. More often then not I post up un-edited chapters and then go back to it the next day with a fresh mind. IT'S A BAD HABIT, I KNOW. I screw up stupid stuff. Still though please tell me if I miss anything.

You guys are freaking awesome. I can't believe you're still reading this fic. D': And as for the previous summary- that scene will happen maybe, in I estimate 4-5 chapters after this. Lol don't hate on me.


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